Morning Star Child
by number09
Summary: A childless couple discover an infant in the wilds of the Olympic National Forest. Clearly she's special, but just how special? Alice and Bella. Rated M for future chapters and possible femslash. First fanfic so comments/criticism welcomed.
1. Prologue Part 1

**Prologue Part 1**

**Olympic National Park: 2007.**

The deep sonic boom reverberated throughout the forest, echoing off the valley walls and causing the herd of deer that the small vampire had been stalking to take flight. Alice reacted instinctively, leaping and taking down a large buck, breaking its neck to minimize the animal's suffering and drinking as its heartbeat quickly faded. If Alice hadn't been distracted by the hunt she would have noticed the strange blue spire of light pierce the clouds below the morning star in the east, at the same point where the boom had emanated, striking downwards to hit the floor of the next valley, fading almost as quickly as it appeared.

When Alice finished feeding she stood and shook down her clothes, frowning at a tiny drop of blood that had landed on designer jeans, smudging it by rubbing at it with delicate fingers. Then she remembered what had caused the herd to startle and looked up towards the source of the sound, facing east over the slope of the mountain that separated Alice from the next valley. For a moment she hesitated, tempted to investigate. But she knew there were hikers in that valley, a human pair. So Alice turned and ran towards the direction her parents were hunting, another 20 miles south, just as the first cool rays of breaking dawn began to flood parts of the valley with soft golden light.

Less than 10 minutes after the boom broke the pre-dawn silence a gust of wind blew over the running girl, making her stumble and pull up in shock. The gust carried just a single molecule of scent, not even enough for Alice to try to separate and identify the unfamiliar components, but her stomach contracted as though she'd been struck. It wasn't painful, yet it caused an aching sense of yearning that might have made her weep if she could still shed tears.

Alice sniffed the air, hoping to find further traces of the tantalizing scent, but it was gone. She stood there for several more minutes, confused, debating whether to turn back. Eventually she shook her head in an attempt to clear the strange fog of confusion. If anyone had been there watching the tiny pixie they might have struggled to hold back from laughing at the almost comical gesture.

She knew her parents would be waiting for her by now. Her mother had planned this trip to visit the family's old home at Forks to begin preparations for their next move in a few years time. Esme was meticulous when it came to their family's homes, the effort she put in to their design and construction was an expression of her love for her family, and she wanted to be ready to order materials and organize the renovations for a complete makeover of the old mansion well before they were due to make the next move from Alaska. Alice knew better than to keep her mother waiting and huffed in frustration, before reluctantly taking off again in the same direction she had been running minutes before.


	2. Prologue Part 2

Disclaimer: Twilight. I don't own the characters or settings. Obviously.

**Prologue Part 2**

**Olympic National Park: 2007.**

Charles Swan had held his wife tenderly as she cried herself to sleep in front of the dying campfire. This hiking trip had been a joint decision, a way to say a final goodbye to the hopes they had had of having a child together. Charlie was 48 and Renee was 45, and after years of trying to conceive, followed by over a dozen failed IVF attempts, Charlie and Renee had finally realized that they could take no more, the cycle of hope and disappointment was too painful. They'd hiked into the mountains, a shared pleasure, and had sat in front of the campfire speaking the words that neither had wanted to admit. But they had agreed, their life together would be just that, a family of two, held together by their love, tinged with regret for what might have been.

The night had been perfect, a clear sky, still, stars gleaming in a midnight sky. Charlie was still awake as dawn approached, still holding his sleeping wife. Sleep softening the dark shadows of sadness under her eyes. Under the bright night sky and in the firelight she looked like the 25 year old teaching graduate he had fallen in love with back in Phoenix. He had been a promising young police officer on the fast track, still a few years out from joining the FBI. Their early life had been so perfect. He would make it so again.

A light breeze had started a few hours before dawn, blowing clouds in, obscuring the starry sky. Soon the only light flickering across Renee's face was thrown by the fire. Charlie had leaned across her from time to time, careful not to disturb her as he added more wood. He'd finally started dozing off, his arm wrapped around her in a familiar protective embrace, when it happened.

The noise was unearthly, so loud it seemed to burst out of the sky almost directly above them. Renee screamed as he threw himself across her. Her screams stopped the moment the beam of light broke through the clouds and shone directly downwards, falling somewhere less than a couple of miles from where they were camped, then disappearing as quickly as it had manifested, leaving nothing but silence and darkness.

"Sweetheart, are you OK?" Charlie searched his wife's face.

"Wh .. what the hell was that?" Renee's eyes were wide and dark as she tried to sit up, making her husband roll off her, together scrambling out of their sleeping bag.

"I think .. I think it came down ... or something .. over there." Charlie pointed towards the track that they had walked up the day before. "Stay here, I'm going to go have a look."

"Charlie Swan, you sure as hell aren't leaving me here alone. I'm coming with you."

Charlie started to protest, but then allowed himself a small resigned smile, knowing there was no way his wife was letting him go alone. They scrambled quickly into hiking pants, boots and jackets, and each pulled out head torches, though the slowly approaching glow of dawn would soon shed enough light on the trail ahead not to need them.

They walked carefully in single file, Charlie in the front, always the protector, moving wordlessly for about 15 minutes until they began to notice a glow in the distance. Approaching slowly, Charlie forced himself to relax his body, muscles coiled and ready to erupt into action, scanning left and right for any hint of danger, until he was finally close enough to the large indentation, almost like a long shallow crater, flickering at the raised end with small flames.

He chuckled softly to himself, thinking how worked up he'd become over what was obviously just a small meteorite. Walking forwards, he relaxed, laughing at himself, straightening and looking in. And that's when he stopped dead, causing his wife to stumble into his back and softly curse him with bemused affection for not giving her any warning, the words dying on her lips as she too looked in and saw it.

A child. A baby really. Not more than a few weeks old. Naked. Pale. Perfect. And asleep. An impossible child.

The infant whimpered softly in her sleep, lying there in the soft churned earth, tiny perfect hands clenched tight to her chest as she slowly wriggled and turned her head. And opened her eyes and looked. Really looked at both of them.

It happened to Charlie and Renee at the same time, the pounding in their ears the only noise, their heartbeats impossibly loud, the world seeming to fade away as they stared back into the infant's innocent chocolate eyes. The decision was obvious. They said it together, without even looking at each other. Each a hoarse whisper. A joint promise to each other and the baby girl.

"Ours."


	3. Moving

2012 - Moving

"Mom."

"Mom."

"MOM!"

Renee finally looked up at her daughter, holding back a chuckle when she saw the frustration stamped on her face as Bella waved a hand back and forth in front of her eyes.

"You _promised_!" the last word was raised into a high pitched squeek. Bella turned to her dad. "You really did." The last words were softer, pleading.

"We said we'd _think_ about it Bells."

Charlie looked across the dinner table to his wife. "It _has_ been a year, the growth spurts seem to have stopped. We could pull her out straight away if something went wrong honey."

Renee sighed in resignation. High School. They knew it wasn't fair on Bella to hold her back from experiencing life. But High School? Kids could be cruel at the best of times, and Bella's sweetness and innocence would be no match for teenagers if they sensed anything different about her. They could be like sharks sensing blood in the water.

When they first found Bella they'd been shocked to watch her grow so quickly. Within a year she looked like a 4 year old. Double that at her actual 2 years. They'd had to move twice, and Charlie had left the FBI to go back to police work. Renee had quit her job to care for Bella at home. They'd been terrified that if Bella's life had flashed ahead at that speed then she might only live for 20 years or so. It was like a weird aging disease. But they knew they couldn't take her to see a doctor, they'd realized that when fear of what was happening to their daughter had finally brought them to a small surgery in Phoenix when Bella was 4 months of age (looking like a toddler). Thank God for Charlie's cautiousness and insistence that they use false names. Bella had sat up on the table, legs swinging under her, looking around, and started talking to him, asking questions about the medical equipment in the room, using terminology that no child would know. They'd barely managed to get her out of the surgery before the doctor had picked up the phone in his excitement to call in more specialists and order a battery of invasive tests.

Thank God over the years Bella hadn't experienced the usual childhood illnesses that terrified most first time parents. Her clumsiness had, however, remained a constant source of worry, as she always seemed to struggle to fit in and adapt to her ever changing body. But somehow she'd manager never to break anything, and never had anything more than the usual childhood quota of cuts and bruises.

Renee and Charlie had almost cried with relief when they realized Bella's growth rate had leveled out at around 4 years. Now, 5 years after they'd found Bella, she looked like an average 17 year old girl. And now that anything but average teenager was demanding to go to High School.

It wasn't as if Bella needed to go to High School for the education. The only thing stranger than Bella's accelerated growth was her intelligence. She had the beautiful mind of an insatiably curious innocent genius. By the time Bella was 2 and a half and looked like a 10 year old, Renee the teacher had long been outstripped academically by her daughter, and was struggling to find she anything could teach her. Bella read every book she could find, on any topic. Her memory was perfect. Online university courses had proved a Godsend. They had enrolled her across multiple courses at different institutions. Charlie's FBI skills had proved invaluable when they needed to provide false records establishing Bella's age and Bella was pleading for the one thing she so desperately wanted that had been denied her so far. The chance to experience a normal life. And to her that meant school. And the possibility of friends. How could Charlie and Renee deny her that?

Renee sighed again, looking to her husband. They'd been contemplating moving back closer to where they'd found Bella, not really expecting to find answers, but not ruling out all hope. There was even a small house on the edge of town that would be perfect for the small family."Is that position with the police at Forks still available? How about it? I checked at the school. A teacher has taken maternity leave so there is a temporary position available for the rest of the year. I could keep an eye on her."

Charlie grinned. "Just call me Chief honey."

Renee looked to her daughter. "You'll have to hold it back Bells. You know. The brains. Not many High School kids have university degrees." Charlie rolled his eyes at his wife's feeble attempt at humor.

Bella squealed again, knocking over her chair and stubbing a toe in the rush to get around the dinner table and hug both her parents, smothering them with kisses.


	4. Arrival

**Saturday.**

Alice had been about to descend the stairs when it happened. The vision began like any other and she froze, eyes glazing over.

The five Cullen children were entering the cafeteria, ready to repeat the endless charade of pretending to eat in front of the humans, when their eyes had been drawn to a nearby table. And that's when the strangeness began. Alice could make out the faces of familiar students, and could hear small snippets of what others around the room were saying. '.. the new kid'. 'Chief'. 'Cute'. '..got her Mom in AP ..'

But in the corner of the table, where the attention those at that table was focused, all Alice could see was a shimmering white light, so bright she almost had to look away. And the only noises Alice could hear when she turned towards the source of the light was a faint crackling buzz, like the static noise you used to hear on old tvs. She couldn't even make out what the kids at that table were saying, the buzz was too loud, drowning out all noise closest to it.

Then it ended.

'_Weird_.'

"What's up Alice?" Jasper looked up from the couch, where he was playing Tekken 6 with Emmett. He could sense her confusion.

"Nothing. There's a new kid starting at school. I think her Mom may be a teacher. I need to hunt."

And with that she was out the door before he could ask her any questions which she didn't have the answers to.

**Sunday**

Isabella Marie Swan could barely contain her excitement about tomorrow, so had resorted to reading to try to calm herself. She was already well into her third book for the day.

She and her mother had arrived in Forks a week ago, following Charlie who had already taken up his position as Chief of Police a couple of weeks earlier. He'd been using his spare time to start renovating their home, a low slung 2 story modern but rustic-looking cabin on the outskirts of Forks, the last house at the end of a long winding road, edging onto forest. The outside still needed work, but the inside was freshly painted in warm earth tones, simple but tasteful, its masculinity offset by feminine touches in the home furnishings chosen by his wife. Even with the piles of unpacked moving boxes, it already felt like home.

Bella was curled up in an overstuffed chair in the one room that was already completely unpacked. The library. Although small, every spare wall in the room was taken up with books. Thousands of them. The only wall not completely lined with books was the one containing the large window which Bella sat under, reading another biography, glancing up regularly to look out onto the nearby forest.

The weather was cool and occasionally drizzly, but the windows were wide open. Bella had inherited a love of the outdoors from her parents, and couldn't bear to be kept away from nature for too long. Eventually she decided to take a walk to explore.

"Mom, I'm just going outside for a bit."

"Hmmm ... ok honey .. don't go far."

Bella grabbed a jacket and headed for the back of the house, weaving her way through gradually thickening trees, following a path that had been well worn by the previous owners. After a while the path split into two and began to rise sharply, taking her upwards until she was in a small clearing, looking over into another valley. She climbed onto a boulder, her back to the breeze, and pulled out her book, about to start reading again when a speck of white in the distance caught her eye. She stared, realizing it was a house nestled amongst the forest, several miles away on the other side of the forest valley.

'_Wow_'. Even from this distance, unable to make out any architectural features, the setting and size of the house suggested it was probably spectacular. And expensive. _'I wonder who lives there_.' She let her mind daydream for a while, trying to imagine the occupants, wondering if there were any her age, if they'd like her. After a while she started feeling foolish, thinking her daydream a bit childish, and returned to her book.

If anyone had been observing the young girl they might have noticed something strange occur. Not to her. But around her. The silent forest slowly seemed to come alive. The breeze picked up, blowing leaves around the small clearing, swirling in a delicate dance around Bella, catching her hair, before floating down towards the valley below. At the same time dozens of tiny creatures began to surround the clearing, timid but curious. Ground squirrels, raccoons, mink, a peregrine, and others, all quietly sitting at the edges of the clearing, just watching the girl.

After a while Bella's nervous energy was gone and she closed her book and slid from the boulder, heading back down the path she had followed up, smiling as she noticed a few small creatures scurry away. She was used to being a magnet for wildlife. It amused and delighted her. Her parents not so much. The first time Renee had woken her daughter whilst camping to find a small red fox curled up sleeping against her she had completely freaked out. After that Bella wasn't allowed to sleep with her tent open.

Miles away, Alice sat with her sister Rosalie on the porch of the white mansion, watching Edward and Jasper spar. Edward's speed made him a match for most vampires. But Jasper's years of experience training and fighting newborns made him a formidable fighter. Even so, Jasper could never bring himself to hurt his brother, and the family wondered why they even bothered trying to spar with each other when their hearts were clearly not in it.

Just then a breeze cut through the trees nearest the house and a small whirlwind traveled across the yard and the driveway, depositing grass and leaves and dirt as it passed. A leaf fluttered up onto the porch, landing in Alice's lap. As she went to brush it away something stopped her, and she brought it to her face, sniffing.

When Rose heard Alice gasp she snapped her head around so fast she would have broken her neck if she had been human.

"What?" Rose asked, clearly alarmed at the look on Alice's face.

"N.. nothing." Alice's eyes were wide. Rose couldn't tell if it was fear or shock or confusion that made her sister turn and run inside the house, still holding the fragile leaf.

Rose heard Alice's bedroom door slam shut with a wood splintering crack before the front door had even closed. '_Well that was weird_' Rose thought, before returning to flick through her magazine.


	5. First Friend

**First friend**

Charlie made sure to be at home for breakfast on both his girls' first day, teacher and student. He sat at the breakfast table and watched the moods flicker across his daughter's face with amusement and concern. He could read excitement, fear and doubt, along with a dozen other less dominant emotions. Bella was an open book to her parents when it came to how she was feeling, and not for the first time Charlie worried that they were doing the wrong thing, that Bella wasn't ready for this day yet.

"She'll be fine" his wife whispered in his ear as she took his empty plate from the table, "You know I'll be there keeping an eye on her." Charlie smiled up at his wife, but the concern never left his eyes.

Finally it was time for them to go, and for once the hug he gave Bella at the front door was a little too much even for his affectionate daughter. "Love you Bells."

Bella squirmed out of his arms. "DAD, I'm not dying, you'll see me tonite!"

Bella climbed into the passenger seat of Renee's small SUV. It was a condition of their consent, driving to and from school with her mother, at least for the first few weeks. It seemed overly protective to Bella, but at least it wasn't as bad as being driven in the police cruiser, and her Mom would be parking in the staff car park, so Bella hoped no one would notice. Bella might not understand school politics, but even she knew that being known as a teacher's kid who drove to school with her Mom could end up being a form of social suicide.

When they pulled up at the small school she glanced over at her mother. "I love you Mom, but if try to speak to me at school I'll ignore you." She tried to soften the words with a grin.

Renee laughed. "That may be hard Bells, you're in my AP History class," pointing to the schedule that she had picked up last week. Bella's eyes went wide with horror. "MOM!"

"Sorry honey. The only other option was remedial science. Here, you go, I picked up your schedule when I called in at school last week. You have Trig first up. It's in that building over there. Don't forget to ask each of your teachers to sign these slips."

Bella stepped out of the vehicle and looked around, hoping no one was watching as she slipped back out the entrance, heading for the student car park. She felt relief when she realized they had arrived early, so there were few vehicles. Climbing the front steps to the main entrance she felt curious stares from the few early arrivals. A bubble of anxiety started to well up in her stomach, she'd never been around this many strangers before, and it was only going to get worse as start time approached. 'Relax, Bella, relax' she chanted silently to herself, walking with her head down, watching her feet. She jumped when a pair of sneakers planted themselves directly in her line of sight.

"Hey. New kid."

Looking up she saw a tall, slim Asian boy, smiling at her with excitement. Bella smiled back shyly.

"You're Isabella Swan. I'm Eric. The eyes and ears of this place. Do you need help finding your classes? Anything you need, tour guide, lunch date, shoulder to cry on, I'm your guy."

The look of confusion on Bella's face was priceless. She didn't have a clue how to respond, so just shook her head.

"Umm .. I'm also the head of the school paper. Do you mind if we do a story on you new kid?"

"Oh, please don't" she begged. Eric felt an overwhelming sense of guilt when he looked into the girl's eyes and realized she might be about to cry.

"Chillax, ok, no story. See you round? Maybe at lunch?"

Bella nodded and almost started running in the direction of her first class, arriving well before first bell, waiting outside huddled in a corner between lockers trying desperately not to be noticed. She waited outside the classroom for a good 10 minutes, head down, staring at her feet, feeling the curious stares of students as they passed her in the hallway, before she heard the room begin to fill with students scraping chairs and catching up on their weekend activities. By the time she found the courage to step inside the class was almost full and she walked over to introduce herself to her teacher, handing him the first slip to sign.

"Welcome Ms Swan. Please find yourself a seat."

Bella looked up, seeing only one spare seat, next to a huge and extraordinarily handsome dark haired boy with pale skin and golden eyes. He looked like a professional footballer, and Bella could tell he was well over 6 feet tall even though he was sitting down.

She made her way over to her seat, glancing shyly at him. He looked back at her, face impassive, studying Bella intently for a moment. Bella's eyes widened. All of a sudden his face split into a huge boyish grin, revealing adorable dimples, his golden eyes sparkling with barely contained laughter.

"Hey, I'm Emmett."

"Isabella Swan. But I prefer Bella" she spoke so softly she thought he might not have heard her.

"Hi Bella. Nice to meet you. You any good at Trig? I'm not. I could do with a study buddy if you are any good. Or if you're not, my girlfriend is. Maybe she could help us both out, if you want?"

For some reason the interaction seemed to surprise some of their classmates, as she heard several intakes of breath and couldn't help but overhear the whispering. "He's talking to her. Why's he talking to her?"

Bella hesitated, but couldn't bring herself to lie. "Uh .. I guess I'm pretty good. I could help you out if you want."

"GREAT. I'd much rather study with anyone than Rose. I love her but she's pretty scary when it comes to making me study. We're going to be great buddies Bells, I can tell."

Bella grinned shyly. Had she just made a friend. An actual friend?

She opened her books and tried to pay attention, but kept looking over at Emmett, who seemed to be doing his best impression of a small child, trying to distract her and make her smile at him again. Something about her smile kept drawing the vampire in, it was sweet and childlike, but warm and full of humor and a sense of fun, and it made him feel good whenever she let him see it. He wanted to play and he wanted make the human smile. He needed it. And her scent. It was amazing. He wanted to rub himself against her just to get closer to that incredible scent. But for some reason it didn't make his throat burn. He found himself having to stop from staring into her eyes. Big soft chocolate doe eyes that spoke of innocence and made Emmett want to protect the human.

Emmett knew Rose was going to kill him for even talking to the girl, let alone for lying about needing help with Trig, but right now he didn't care. For the first time in his undead life he wanted a friend outside his family, and he didn't give a damn that it was a young human girl who he could kill just by hugging her the wrong way. He'd be careful. He knew he could do it.

"Can I see your schedule? I wanna see if we have any more classes together." Emmett seemed to be struggling to stop himself from jumping up and down in his seat.

As Bella leaned closer to Emmett to hand him her schedule she noticed it. Or rather the absence of it. It was not something that a normal human would have been able to pick up on, and she concentrated harder, thinking she must be mistaken. Bella stared at Emmett's huge chest, confused. But there was nothing there. No heartbeat at all. She looked up at Emmett's face, terrified for her new friend, and contemplated launching herself at him to start CPR, or at least ask him if he was ok, but he continued on, oblivious to the terrified look of concern in the face of the young girl seated next to him.

Emmett was far too busy checking her schedule to notice Bella's confusion. His face fell when he realized he had only one more class with her, and that was with Rose too. He looked like a kid who didn't get the toy he wanted for Christmas. "Almost all AP classes? You must be smart. Oh well, you're in classes with my two brothers and my sisters as well. But I'll see you at lunch hey Bells?"

Bella nodded wordlessly, mouth open. The bell rang before she could say anything else, and was still sitting at her desk well after the last student had left trying to work out what had just happened. It was only when the teacher cleared his throat and told her she'd be late for the next class that she scrambled to her feet and rushed out the door, half tripping over her feet as she exited the room.


	6. They're the Cullens

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews everyone. Just felt like writing this for myself to see how it went, but really appreciate that some of you seem to be enjoying it. I have a rough outline of where I want to take this, but most of it is pretty much make it up as I go along. Hardly the right way to go about it I suppose. One thing I am conflicted over, is how dark to go? Bella's short life is pretty 'American teen perfect' so far. She may appear to be a teen for all intents and purposes, but emotionally she's just a kid.** **Something may have to happen to change that and, as the cliche goes, the course of true love rarely runs smooth. But I don't much like all those fanfics that torture their main characters mercilessly with horrendous back stories. And if I decide to keep it short I might just keep it sweet and simple. I guess we'll all see what happens as I keep writing ...**

**Anyway, thanks for reading and hope I don't disappoint too many of you.**

**Also, a few more chapters and more of Bella's nature will start to be revealed. Maybe. I note a couple of reviewers have said that bits sound familiar or they've read something before. Honestly, I'm not trying to copy or add to other stories, but I suppose with over 200,000 Twilight fanfics there won't be much that hasn't been done before.  
**

**This short chapter will be pretty recognizable to most of you on the whole (some bits are straight from the original), but it's necessary to move the plot, so apologies if it's a bit boring ...**

**They're the Cullens**

Bella sat through her next few classes in a daze, thinking about Emmett. She tried to think what kind of medical condition someone might have which left them with an unreadable heartbeat, and was drawing blanks. Even people with pacemakers or various types of blood pressure or circulation problems still registered a beat, however low or slow. Her mind started wandering through the thousands of pages of medical texts, scientific journals, religious texts, books about the occult and even books about the supernatural that she had read. That last option started throwing up possibilities that just seemed absurd to the young girl. Zombies, ghosts, vampires, none of the 'usual' mythical folklore seemed to match Emmett's physical characteristics, and honestly, the operative word here was folklore, not real life. Nothing logical seemed to fit, and anything else just wasn't logical.

Maybe she was mistaken. That must be it. Next time she saw Emmett she'd just try get close to him and prove to herself she was imagining things.

In the final period before lunch she sat next to a sweet girl named Angela Webber who seemed almost as timid as Bella herself. Their attempts at small talk were almost painful to watch, but Bella managed to agree to sit with her at lunchtime, and she was happy and somewhat relieved at the end of the class to follow Angela meekly out of class to her locker, and then into the school's cafeteria. If it wasn't for Angela's shy but warm presence the noise and sight of so many students might almost caused Bella to panic and run. That would be a great start. Running to Mom on the first day.

They filled their lunch trays (Bella opted for an unimpressive looking salad and water over the unidentifiable meat-based meal) and headed for a table, where Bella recognized Eric Yorkie and nodded a hello to him when he called out her name. Eric happily introduced her to those already seated, and Bella committed their names to memory: Mike, Ben, Jessica and Lauren. So far, so good, she hadn't been completely ostracized on her first ever day of school. Yet.

The last two girls made Bella a little uncomfortable with their questions (which she evaded as best she could, without flat out lying) and gossiping, but Bella wasn't the judgmental type and whenever she got anxious she just opted to smile and say nothing. The two girls seemed satisfied with that, as though it meant that Bella was agreeing with everything they were saying. She wished she'd brought a book so she could read it under the table like Angela seemed to be doing. So instead she started looking around the cafeteria, quietly studying her fellow students.

At that moment she noticed a lull in the noise and turned to where a number of students were staring, as 5 impossibly beautiful and startlingly pale golden-eyed students walked, well _glided_, into the cafeteria.

First in line was Emmett, and Bella half rose from her seat as if about to say hello. At the same time Emmett saw her and couldn't stop the huge grin on his face. It seemed he was about to call out to her. Then something changed, as though he realized where he was and who he was with, and his grin faded into a wry smile, and he gave her a quick nod and barely perceptible shrug, and turned away. Bella felt crushed. Maybe Emmett was ashamed to let anyone know he was her friend. She swallowed her disappointment and turned to look at the others.

Holding Emmett's hand and half a step behind him was the most beautiful tall blonde goddess Bella had ever seen in person. It was as though her features had been airbrushed into perfection, and if Bella had been in any way vain she might have found it painful to look at her. She wouldn't have been out of place in an old Hollywood movie. Though the look on her face was disconcerting. As though she wished she was anywhere but here, having to share time and space with such imperfect mortals. Bella couldn't blame her really.

Following the blonde girl were two of the most gorgeous boys imaginable, one was blonde, handsome and slim and equally as tall as the girl, and seemed to be holding himself stiffly as though in pain. The other, a bronze haired boy who looked like he was out of an Abercrombie and Fitch catalog, was whispering in the ear of his friend. Whatever the bronze haired boy said, it managed to temporarily lift the look of pain on the blonde boy's face with a slight curl of amusement to his lips, and Bella was glad to see him smile.

A fifth figure, a tiny girl with short dark hair arranged in soft spikes, seemed to move into the cafeteria like a graceful energetic dancer. Bella felt strangely frustrated when the girl remained obscured behind the others, and sat down with her back to Bella before she could see her face.

Bella turned back to the table and asked "Who are they?"

Angela responded softly: "The Cullens."

Jessica added "They're, um, Dr. and Mrs. Cullen's foster kids. They moved down here from Alaska, like, a few years ago."

Angela seemed uncomfortable with the topic of conversation, and quietly noted "They kinda keep to themselves."

That only seemed to spur Jessica on, and she went on unheeded: "Yeah 'cause they're all together, like TOGETHER together. Uh, the blonde girl, that's Rosalie, and the big dark-haired guy, Emmett, they're like a thing. I'm not even sure that's legal."

Angela looked sharply at Jessica. "Jess, they're not actually related."

Bella was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with Jessica's comments and turned back to look over at the Cullens as Jessica added: "Yeah, but they live together. It's weird-and, okay, the little dark-haired girl is Alice. She's REALLY weird. And um, there's Jasper, the blonde one who looks like he's in pain, and Edward, I'm not sure but I think they're together too. Like. You know. Gay." Her nose wrinkled in apparent disgust.

The two boys at the Cullen table looked up at that moment and laughed, and Bella felt ashamed at even being at the same table as someone like Jessica. She wanted to say something to Jess, but didn't know what, and she felt like a coward. Just at that moment the blonde haired boy, Jasper stared directly at Bella with a thoughtful look, and then seemed to smile right at her before he said something to Edward. Edward stared at Bella intently for an uncomfortably long moment before he frowned and seemed to say something angrily to Jasper and the girl Alice, who had her back to Bella.

Alice turned.


	7. First sight

_The two boys at the Cullen table looked up at that moment and laughed, and Bella felt ashamed at even being at the same table as someone like Jessica. She wanted to say something to Jess, but didn't know what, and she felt like a coward. Just at that moment the blonde haired boy, Jasper stared directly at Bella with a thoughtful look, and then seemed to smile right at her before he said something to Edward. Edward stared at Bella intently for an uncomfortably long moment before he frowned and seemed to say something angrily to Jasper and the girl Alice, who had her back to Bella._

_Alice turned._

_#######_

Alice had been on edge since Saturday's vision. One moment she couldn't wait to see who this new girl was, the one who was messing up her visions, the next she was terrified of what she might find. Her constantly changing emotions were driving Jasper nuts. He was relieved when Alice locked herself in her room Sunday afternoon and wouldn't come out. Edward had refused to spend any time near her at all. He said her thoughts were all over the place, and claimed it was worse than that week she tortured him by singing the lyrics to _Call Me Maybe_ over and over on repeat. They had almost made her take her own car to school Monday morning, but Carlisle had put his foot down about the yellow Porsche months ago. It was too _ostentatious_ for school.

By the time Alice had arrived at school with her siblings she decided she would do everything she could to deliberately avoid the girl. It was a unique feeling for Alice, not knowing what was going to happen, and something in her wanted to draw out the suspense as long as she could. There were a few comical moments when she sensed the girl was nearby and Alice turned tail and almost ran in the other direction. Alice knew she would see the girl finally at lunchtime, and then everything would become clear. She was almost sad to think the mystery would be over by lunch.

All morning they'd overheard students talking about the new kid. Forks High was small and it didn't make much to become the number one topic of gossip. So far they'd learned her name was Isabella Swan, but she preferred Bella, the family had moved to Forks in the last few weeks, possibly from Arizona or somewhere warm, her dad was the new Chief of Police and her mom was teaching at the school, taking over Mrs Jackson's history classes. Someone thought they'd seen the girl sneak into school from the staff car park, so it looks like her Mom had driven her to school. Poor kid.

The general consensus was that Isabella Swan was sweet, shy but likeable. Not exactly the kind of personality traits that would make her stand out in High School, even one as small as Forks.

But there was something strange going on. Edward had been poking around minds all morning and had been bewildered to hear some of the thoughts from students who had come into contact with the girl. She was clearly pretty, perhaps even beautiful. Strangely pale (the thought "_almost as pale as the Cullens_" was repeated a few times). But instead of finding the usual cluster of disgusting hormone driven male fantasies, on the whole there were mostly just vague and wholesome thoughts of wanting to be nice to 'the kid'. And it was always 'the kid', even though they understood the girl was 17, a Junior and possibly quite attractive. Edward wondered if she might be a special needs student. It might explain Alice's haywire vision, if the girl's mind was wired a little 'wrong', and could be one reason why her mom was on staff at the school.

Similar to Edward's experience, Jasper kept getting feelings of general fondness from students who had come into contact with the girl, almost as though she had instantly become everyone's favorite kid sister. Decades of High School experience hadn't ever thrown up anything like that before, and Jasper was curious to see what kind of human could have endeared herself to so many students so quickly in the space of half a day, without appearing to be in any way exceptional.

There were a few startling exceptions, involving a small number of students who were notoriously mean spirited or nasty, but who had never quite stepped over the line into obvious perversity or evil. It was almost revelatory, how the girl's presence had exposed a few sick minds in the general student body. It seemed as though not even the vulnerability of a possible disability could stop a particular level of nastiness, and Edward and Jasper decided they'd keep an eye on those students whose starkly contrasting thoughts seemed to reveal their true nature that morning.

That brought them to Emmett. They knew he'd had a class with the girl this morning, but when they caught up with him in the minutes before entering the cafeteria he was singing the opening lyrics to Calvin Harris's _Feel So Close_ over and over in his head and was physically vibrating like he was high. He seemed unwilling to talk to anyone about Isabella Swan, not even Rosalie (not that Rose had shown any interest whatsoever in the morning's events). She'd cracked him over the head and all he did was grin like a fool.

By the time the remaining four Cullens entered the cafeteria that Monday behind Emmett they were were expecting a massive anti-climax.

Jasper and Edward seated themselves so they had the girl in their line of sight across the cafeteria. They picked out a new voice softly asking who they were. It was pretty, warm and a little husky. Alice seemed to stiffen when she heard it and a look of concentration crossed her face as she listened in. Emmett was smiling, one elbow on the table, resting his chin on his raised hand, staring off into nothing, as Rosalie appeared bored (when didn't she?) and moved the cafeteria food around on her tray. Edward was relieved to find Emmett had stopped singing that damned song in his head, although now he seemed to be rapidly trawling through a list of possible games to teach his new 'little buddy', whoever the hell that was. Edward turned back to the girl just as Jasper was filling him in on her rather endearing reaction to Jessica's small minded thoughts, and asking him to read the girl's thoughts.

That's when it all went to hell.

Edward flicked his mind over to the girl. Nothing. He concentrated. He could feel her presence, but he couldn't get 'in'. It was though he was sliding off a slippery glass shield. He panicked.

"I can't read her."

"What?"

"I can't read her. I can't get anything at all. W ... we can't trust her. She's dangerous. I know it. We have to speak to Carlisle."

Alice stiffened. "Just because you can't read her doesn't mean she's dangerous. And of course she's human."

"You haven't even looked at her yet. How would you know? She's staring at us right now, as though she _knows_."

Alice turned.

Just as Bella turned away, blushing furiously at the thought of being caught staring.

Jasper spoke up. "I don't feel it. Not danger. She's embarrassed. That's all."

"Oh my God. Can you smell that? She's blushing. I can smell it from here. It .. it's amazing." Jasper tensed as he felt Edward's reaction. Both their eyes were black. Alice sniffed and caught a strangely familiar scent. It was divine, but that was no reason to react like an animal. She whipped her head back to stare at Edward and hissed at him. "Control yourself!"

She slammed her meal tray on the table and slid from her chair in one elegant motion, skipping over to the table where the girl was seated. As she approached all talking seemed to stop and she felt several sets of eyes staring at her as she looked at the back of the seated girl. She made a mental note of how gorgeous her curly mahogany hair was, and noted the slim but attractive feminine curves of the girl's body, at the same time critiquing the girl's obviously lacking fashion sense. '_She's dressed like a shy 12 year old. I wonder if her Mom buys her clothes? She needs a good fashion-savvy friend_.'

Bella realized someone was behind her when everyone stopped talking and seemed to stare open-mouthed at someone just over her shoulder. She felt a strange trickle of electricity on the back of her neck, and slowly turned around to look up into the adorable face of the last Cullen.

"Hi, I'm Alice and I just wanted to ...". Alice froze, forgetting what she was going to say when she looked into the girl's huge soft chocolate eyes, and caught a more intense wave of that familiar scent. She squeaked. Stumbled backwards. And ran from the cafeteria.

Jessica snickered. "See, I told you she was weird. WEIRD."


	8. Tears and accusations

_"Hi, I'm Alice and I just wanted to ...". Alice froze, forgetting what she was going to say when she looked into the girl's huge soft chocolate eyes, and caught a more intense wave of that familiar scent. Alice squeaked. Stumbled backwards. And ran from the cafeteria._

_Jessica snickered. "See, I told you she was weird. WEIRD."_

xxxxx

The remaining Cullen children rose as one and followed Alice out of the cafeteria as though it was a pre-planned manoeuvre.

Bella looked crushed and close to tears as the small vampire ran off, followed closing by her siblings. As the Cullens neared the exit the largest vampire was in the rear and he hesitated, spinning and standing still for just a moment as he sought out Bella in the cafeteria. When his eyes met hers his face lit up once more. And he grinned slowly. And winked. Then turned to follow his siblings. It was really rather ... sweet. That was all that rescued Bella from the embarrassment of breaking down in front of the entire cafeteria, giving her just enough confidence to pull herself together in front of the students at her table and try to act as if nothing had happened.

Outwardly she appeared calm, whilst her thoughts and emotions were in complete chaos. '_What the heck? Did I do something wrong? Didn't she like me? Why didn't she want to talk to me? She was so cute. Like completely adorable. My chest is burning? Am I getting sick? Maybe I should see Mom? No. If I see Mom she won't let me come to school again ... ._' Only Angela Webber seemed to pick up on Bella's underlying turmoil, as she kept looking at her with a mix of concern and pity.

After lunch Bella had AP Lit followed by Gym. By the time Bella had started to calm down she looked up from her seat to see Emmett entering the class room, smiling warmly at her as though the bizarre events in the cafeteria had never happened. She was about to wave awkwardly when she noticed the girl following him into the room. Rosalie. Bella gulped and let Emmett pass by without saying anything, a wave of anxiety passing through her when she realized Rosalie had stopped directly in front of her.

Rose was puzzled by her mate's obvious and curiously instant connection to the young girl, particularly as it was devoid of anything remotely sexual. She stood in front of Bella's desk and stared, before leaning in slightly, taking an imperceptible breath and slowly running one cool finger down the girl's forearm as she deliberately stared into deep brown eyes, searching for something.

The gesture might have seemed worryingly predatory to the rest of her family if they had been watching, as it was similar to what Rose might have done if she were trying to dazzle the young girl. But that wasn't what Rose was trying to do at all. She was trying to figure out a puzzle. The girl's scent really was quite remarkable, and Rose breathed in again deeply, feeling relieved when her throat didn't start to burn. At least that wasn't what Emmett was attracted to.

Rosalie gently stroked the back of Bella's hand as though trying to sooth the young girl's nerves and leant in closer, whispering softly "Bella". Bella had no idea whether the gesture was meant to be sexual, maternal or simply friendly, and she couldn't stop the small whimper that escaped her lips when she felt Rosalie's ice cold touch. That small whimper changed to a strangled gasp when Bella realized. Rosalie was like Emmett. There was no dull even thump where Rosalie's heartbeat should be.

Bella's heart was racing almost out of control by now, confused by what the lack of a heartbeat meant, and bewildered to find herself the object of interest of the blonde goddess whom she had only heard described as an ice queen or bitch. Even Emmett had suggested Rose could be scary, and he was her boyfriend. Bella fought the urge to flee from the classroom, but couldn't stop her leg from jumping, feeling her knee hit hard underneath the desk with an obvious thud, making her wince. Bella's eyes widened as she saw a small frown mar Rosalie's perfect forehead, and at that moment Bella couldn't help but pout in disappointment for somehow upsetting the tall beauty.

Rosalie watched the emotions flicker across the girl's face and her own full lips lifted and curled ever so slightly at the honest and completely guileless display. Bella really was an open book, even if Edward couldn't read her mind. The girl's innocent appeal and genuine desire to please was obvious. Hurting her would be like kicking a puppy or being cruel to a small child. And the pull that Rosalie felt towards her was almost physical, as though the girl might somehow form a piece of her family that no one had known was missing. She'd think about what problems that might bring later. A human girl, barely 17. A vampire family. It really was quite unacceptable.

Bella looked up to meet twinkling golden eyes staring back at her with something that looked almost like warmth. At that moment any fears Bella still held evaporated and a shy smile formed on her own soft lips.

Bella couldn't help but think that Rosalie really was extraordinarily beautiful when not scowling. Actually she was extraordinarily beautiful even when she was scowling. Thinking of Rosalie's beauty naturally led to Bella comparing her to another girl whose golden eyes she had glimpsed back in the cafeteria, and for a moment she closed her eyes and pictured her again, feeling the same strange warm sensation building in her core that had happened when she first looked up into the pixie's face, before it had turned into a painful ache when Alice turned and ran. '_Alice_'.

Rosalie noticed the young girl's full lips silently form the familiar name, and the beautiful blonde smiled to herself with satisfaction, before she straightened and walked to the back of the class, sitting next to Emmett. She was content. Still, she couldn't resist punishing him for not being open with her about the girl, and she reached over and cuffed him, making him pout before he grinned in response to the smile hidden under his wife's pretend scowl.

Both vampires ignored the wave of curious whispers triggered by the brief exchange between Rose and Bella. For the rest of the class Bella had a definite burning sensation between her shoulders and was almost certain she was being watched intently by two sets of identical eyes, but she was too shy to turn around to confirm her suspicions. As the class ended and the room began to empty she felt cool masculine fingers place a note in her hand before walking out the class. She opened it and smiled. '_Hey Bells. Study at your place Wed after school? Check with your Mom and let me know? Rose is cool with it – she's sick of trying to knock sense into me. Hoping my little buddy can do better. C U tmrrw. E_.'

Bella wasn't certain if she was relieved or disappointed when no Cullen children turned up in her gym class. She hadn't brought gym clothes to school so was excused from participating on her first day, and spent the entire class sitting on the benches in the gymnasium thinking over the day's events. Her first day at school had been nothing like she had expected, and she wondered what she would tell her Mom and Dad.

High School was turning out to be much more complicated and confusing than she ever imagined. But she was certain of one thing, she couldn't risk her parents not letting her come back. So with that she decided to do something she had never done before. She wouldn't exactly lie to her parents, but she'd keep details to a bare minimum until she had worked out exactly what was going on with the children in the Cullen family.

But first she had to ask her Mom if Emmett could come over and study on Wednesday.

xxxxx

Back at the Cullen residence things were in chaos. Jasper was trying to calm his boyfriend as Edward was yelling at Alice for being unreasonable and stupid. Alice was accusing Edward of wanting to drain a human.

Alice had run home and thrown herself into her mother's arms, sobbing uncontrollably. The sight of the distressed pixie was only made more painful by the fact that the tears welling in her eyes would not fall, denying her any form of physical relief. Shortly after Edward had returned home with Jasper, ranting about a dangerous new student who could destroy them all. Jasper was clearly torn between supporting his boyfriend and trying to downplay Edward's overblown fears.

It had taken an hour for Esme to try and make some sort of sense of what had happened, and even then she wasn't sure what danger a human girl would possibly present to her family based on what had happened at school this morning, nor could she make sense of why Alice was reacting the way she was. She knew Edward could be overbearing and had a tendency to over-react, but normally the rest of the children would ignore him or tease him until he saw sense. Alice's reaction to Edward's views on this new girl seemed way over the top. Surely he could control any desire he had for the girl's blood, he'd never failed before.

Esme sent the two boys out to hunt and sat stroking her daughter's head as Alice lay in her mother's lap, waiting for Carlisle and her other two children to come home from school.

"Mom?"

"Hmmm sweetie?"

"Tell me about when you met Carlisle?"

Esme smiled. Her family had heard this many times, but she was always happy to tell the story of the handsome blonde doctor who treated her when she was just 16 when she broke her leg back in 1911. After a number of years of heartbreak she had finally married another, but had never forgotten the man with the golden eyes. She didn't mention the son she'd lost, her family knew about the cause of her attempted suicide and it hurt to think of her baby boy even now. And Carlisle had saved her when he found her in the morgue, all but dead.

"So did you know you loved Carlisle when you were human?"

"Yes. Yes I did. I loved him the moment I saw him."

"You were only 16. You were only a child. And he, he was almost 300!"

"Well I didn't know that bit."

Esme grinned. "I honestly don't think I would have cared if I had known then. And I certainly didn't care that I was only 16, I knew what I wanted. But it mattered to him. He never told me he loved me. He wanted me to be happy. When he left he broke my heart. I knew I'd never love anyone else."

"But he did love you from the start?"

"Very much. But I was young and I was human. It couldn't be."

Alice sighed miserably.

"It all worked out honey. It always does in the end."


	9. Study buddies

Renee and Charlie were bemused by their daughter's sudden friendship with Emmett Cullen, the boy mountain. Charlie had already come across Dr Cullen at the local hospital, and had been impressed with the man's dedication and obvious compassion. The family was highly regarded in Forks, even if they mostly kept to themselves. They gave generously to local charities and Esme Cullen frequently volunteered at the hospital with her husband. Renee asked around the staff room and although the Cullen children were thought to be standoffish and their relationships just a little odd, the general consensus was that they were exceptionally well-mannered and highly intelligent. Model students. In fact it really wasn't clear why Emmett had asked for assistance with Trig as his marks were almost as good as those of his other siblings. Bella explained that it was Rosalie that usually helped him, and Emmett needed a change of tutor for the sake of his relationship. Or at least that was how that Emmett had explained it to Bella.

Emmett was a man on a mission when he arrived at the Swan house on Wednesday afternoon. He was going to charm Renee Swan and remove any doubt that he could be the perfect best friend for her daughter. The bunch of flowers he handed to Renee may have been overkill, but what else would you expect from a man who was born in 1915? He was polite and charming and rather funny, and spoke with deep affection of his girlfriend Rosalie, telling Renee he just wanted to do as well at school as he could to make sure he could be the man Rosalie deserved. And Renee did see that he was really rather sweet with her daughter. She brought them snacks in the library (which Emmett left untouched) and watched proudly from the doorway as Bella explained a series of higher level trigonometric functions in clear and simple terms. Emmett was impressed and seemed to quickly catch on under Bella's tutelage. Renee realized this strange friendship could be just as good for her daughter's confidence as for the boy, and left them alone to study.

After an hour they'd managed to work through all their assigned homework and ahead to next week's problems as well (both of them deliberately taking far longer than needed to maintain their respective charades) and Bella felt a little disappointed when she realized they'd finished. They moved out into the cool of the back porch to talk.

"Hey Bells, how about you come for a sleepover on Friday night? Rose wants to see you. Alice too. I wanna thrash you at Call of Duty. I am the MASTER. Or we can play something more girly like Guitar Hero. I'm cool with that."

Bella didn't have a clue what Emmett was talking about, but was too busy trying to stop her heart from racing out of control after Emmett mentioned Alice. She hadn't been at school since Monday.

"Is Alice ok?"

"Sure. She wasn't well on Monday. That's why she ran out. Poor thing. She's only just stopped throwing up. It was epic. Totally gross." Emmett lied like a pro.

Bella felt guilty for feeling so happy that Alice was sick. Maybe Alice didn't dislike her after all.

"I'll ask Mom. I'm not really .. I haven't .. I've never had a sleepover."

Emmett looked at her peculiarly, but said nothing.

After a comfortable period of silence Bella looked over at Emmett as though she'd just made up her mind about something.

"Emm?"

"Hmmm? Yes?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure Bellybutton." He was quite proud of that one. He already had a whole series of nicknames ready for the girl and he was going to try them out one by one.

"Why don't you or Rose have a heartbeat Emm?"

Emmett froze.

"Wh .. what?"

"You don't have a heartbeat. It's ok. I wont tell anyone if it's a secret. But why not?"

"I .. uh ... I'm not supposed to tell. It's like a rule. It's really bad if we tell."

"Oh ... what .. what if I guessed?"

Emmett's face relaxed. "That'd be ok I think. Can .. can I check with Car .. with my Dad first?"

"Course. Sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel bad Emm."

"You could never make me feel bad Babybelle."

xxxxx

That night things were tense at the Cullen residence.

"You can't invite her HERE. She's a human. And now we know she suspects something. I can't even read her to find out what. It's too dangerous. What if she works out what we are." Edward really did sound like a whiny girl when he was upset.

Carlisle was conflicted between ensuring his family was protected, and wanting to meet the girl who seemed to know too much. In the end safety won out "It might be safer if she didn't come here."

Surprisingly, Esme disagreed with her husband for a change. "I don't see any harm. What's the difference between her seeing the kids her or at school? If she works it out she works it out. Staying one night isn't going to change that. Emm can take her out to dinner before she gets here and she can sleep in one of the girl's rooms."

"Pleeease Dad." Emmett channeled his inner 5 year old. Which wasn't hard as it was usually pretty close to the surface.

Alice had been silent throughout, but took the opportunity to speak up now, offering softly. "She can sleep in my room."

Edward glared at his boyfriend, and loyalty won out over Jasper's true feelings. "I don't think she should be around Edward. It .. it could be a problem."

Edward grinned triumphantly. "See. We win. Four against three."

Emmett spluttered "Four?"

Edward laughed. "We all know how much Rose dislikes humans. Sorry, but you lose."

Rose looked up from the magazine she had been reading on the couch, having ignored almost the entire conversation. "Actually, I don't entirely hate this one. I vote for the .. _sleepover_." She seemed to find the last word distasteful. "It might be interesting."

She looked quite disgusted when her husband and sister launched themselves squealing happily onto the couch on top of her.


	10. Flu

**AN: Okay. This is just a quickie to let you know that the next update may take a few days or more to write. Sorry :) **

**Because we all know what's coming and it's going to take me a while to work out how to write it. You know, the reason for the M rating. Well, maybe just some fluff to start with, because other things are happening too, but we'll get there. Thanks for all the encouragement. You guys are just sweet. And OMG WolfDragonGod, I can't believe you are following this AND giving feedback. Your stuff is awesome.**

**xxxxxxx**

**Flu**

It had started after the 'incident' with Alice in the cafeteria on Monday.

At first it was the aching pain in Bella's chest. But it was followed that night by a slowly burning fever and a full body ache. Bella didn't say anything to her Mom or Dad because school just seemed too important right now. And it really wasn't that bad. She just felt warm and a little bit achy. Or at least that's how it began. Just how she expected a mild flu would feel if she'd ever had one. The only really frustrating symptom was how tired she felt. On Tuesday morning her parents actually had to wake Bella for the first time in her life. And on Wednesday. And again on Thursday. They passed it off as tiredness from the excitement of her new school routine.

In the early hours of Friday morning Bella woke in real pain, twisted in her damp sheets, her body soaked in sweat. Her back felt like it was on fire and she stumbled into her bathroom, wincing when she turned on the light. She hardly recognized herself in the mirror, her face covered in sweat and deathly pale, dark shadows under her eyes. She twisted to try see her back in the mirror, but there was nothing there. Just clear pale skin. Climbing under the shower seemed to ease the pain, and she sat on the shower floor until she started feeling sleepy again, finally falling back into bed again exhausted. On Friday morning she felt a little better, and was happy to head off to school with her Mom.

She still hadn't had a conversation with Alice, but they'd smiled at each other in class and across the cafeteria on Thursday and Bella felt like they could be friends.

This time when her Mom dropped her off and she crossed the school car park carrying her overnight bag the Cullens were already there leaning against a big black jeep and silver volvo. It wasn't hard to guess that the jeep belonged to Emmett. He came bounding across to Bella, hugging her a little clumsily until she giggled and told him she couldn't breathe.

Alice was watching them with an intense look on her face.

"Hi Bella."

"Hi .. Alice." Alice's heart almost seemed to give a phantom beat when she heard Bella say her name for the first time.

"We're looking forward to tonight. Emm has a heap of games planned. He's so excited about having someone new to play. And we have movies and popcorn. But you don't have to so anything you don't want. We just want you to have fun."

"Ignore her Bella. I am the King of Fun. You're going to love it." Emmett grabbed her bag and threw it in the back, then dragged his two girls off to class. One arm around Rosalie's waist, drawing her close, his free hand clasping Bella's, gently tugging Bella along with them.

Alice skipped along behind them, making the most of her unobstructed view of Bella's cute jean-clad butt.


	11. Sleepover

**Sleepover  
**

Bella had woken up exhausted on Friday morning, having spent much of the previous night curled up under the shower, the ice cold water blasting on her skin giving some small relief from the fever burning through her body and the sharp pain in her back. Eventually she had dragged herself back to bed and managed to gain a few hours of restless sleep before her alarm went off.

It wasn't all bad. Even though Bella was exhausted and still woke with a mild fever, in other ways she felt good. Almost amazing. Colors seemed brighter and she could see details she'd never noticed before. When she was getting dressed for school she could hear the conversation her Mom and Dad were having downstairs as though she was seated right next to them. And everyday smells seemed intense, almost overpowering.

So in the end Bella decided not to tell her parents about her disturbed feverish night. She had school. Even better, after pleading with her parents most of Wednesday night and Thursday morning at breakfast, they had finally relented and agreed she could go stay with the Cullens on Friday night. Nothing was going to interfere with that.

In the space of just a week Bella had made her very first and best friend. It was a strange relationship for a pair of teenagers, but then neither of them really were teenagers. It was innocent and sweet and playful and just what the young girl needed. Bella was being hurled towards adulthood at an unnatural pace and everything was new and confusing. Emmett was a safe harbor, funny, loyal and in some ways as childlike as Bella. She could be herself with him, and his charm and goofy teasing helped her feel normal and safe. Her walls were starting to break down and she started to wonder what it would be like to tell him her secrets. And Bella was good for Emmett, for the first time he had someone outside his tight knit family who cared about him, who looked up to him, who trusted him. And as each day passed he trusted her more, and he began to hate keeping secrets from her.

There was also Rosalie. Whilst the golden haired beauty queen rarely said more than a few words to Bella, Bella was sure she wasn't imagining the occasional hint of a smile on Rose's lips when she looked at her. If Edward had tried to read her mind he would have been surprized to learn Rose wasn't just tolerating Bella for Emmett's sake. Rose was fiercely protective of her family, and she understood intuitively that Bella would prove important to them. For now she was happy to sit back and watch fragile bonds form with two of her siblings. And if those growing bonds needed a nudge, she might even do that too.

When Bella met up with the Cullen siblings in the car park on Friday morning she'd been swept up in Emmett's arms and spun around until she was dizzy and laughing, squealing for him to let her go. It was the first time Emmett had dared to hug the fragile human. He might have delayed a little longer if he'd known that Bella would instantly take note of how impossibly hard and ice cold his body was.

Perhaps it was the dizziness that made Bella almost mute when Alice spoke to her in the car park. Bella felt her heart start racing and she tried to think of something clever or interesting to say. Instead all she managed was a timid "Hi Alice." (Her inner monologue was a little more expressive. '_Hi Alice?' "OMG, that's ALL you can come up with?' 'Real smooth' 'Could you be more pathetic? She must think you are an idiot.' 'What the hell is wrong with me?_')

Bella could almost have kissed Emmett when he saved her from any further embarrassment by dragging her by the hand into school. Her relief was short-lived when she remembered her first class was AP Chemistry, where she'd again be faced by the one girl who seemed to be able to rob her of the ability to form coherent sentences.

When Bella walked into Chemistry Alice had somehow beaten her there, smiling up at her as she waved her over to the empty desk beside her.

"I saved you a seat."

"Th .. thanks."

"I can't wait for tonight. We have a heap of movies to choose from. Emmett prefers horror but we have practically anything you could think of."

"Gr .. great." ('_Ohmygod you are doing it again. Use your words Bella, you know, the ones with more than one syllable. And what, you've started stuttering now? It just keeps getting better_.')

Bella was saved from further humiliation by a pop quiz.

The agony continued at lunch. Emmett now insisted on Bella sitting with them, and Alice squeezed down next to her, making Rosalie grumble at her as she forced her to move over. In fact Alice seemed to be doing her best to sit as close to Bella as she could. Bella was certain there was enough room at the table for them not to have to actually press into each other like they were. It was really confusing. And even more confusing - Bella didn't want to pull away.

Emmett monopolized Bella throughout lunch, much to Alice's frustration. Jasper and Rosalie joined in from time to time, and even Edward managed to be civil, in between frowning and staring intensely at Bella.

Alice finally managed to make a break though after lunch, in Art History. She passed Bella a note.

"Play a game with me? Answer my questions and I'll do my best to make sure Emmett doesn't win every single game tonight."

Bella read the note and was surprized by Alice's beautiful copperplate handwriting. She was almost embarrassed to reveal her childish handwriting to Alice.

"OK. But I reserve the right not to answer."

Alice smiled. "Favorite color? Mine's yellow."

"It changes all the time. Right now I like blue."

"Where were you born? I'm from Mississippi."

Bella seemed to stiffen and hesitate when she read that question.

"Here in Washington."

That answer surprized Alice. She knew the Swans had moved from Arizona. She would have to ask Bella more about Washington later. Did they live here before?

"What are your favorite things to do? I love shopping, designing clothes and art."

"Reading. And hiking with my parents."

"What were you like as a kid?"

"Pretty much the same as I am now, but shorter."

Alice giggled. She could believe that.

"Have you ever been kissed?"

Alice didn't have to wait for Bella to write anything to know what her answer was. She could feel the heat of Bella's blush from 2 feet away.

"No."

"Have you ever had a boyfriend?"

"NO."

"Girlfriend?"

"ALICE !" (Bella underlined it too).

"What? It's a fair question. Do you have a problem with girls who like girls?"

Bella felt awful that Alice might think that. She'd just been increasingly embarrassed with all the questions about kissing and boyfriends and girlfriends. A week ago the entire extent of her human interactions had pretty much been limited Charlie and Renee. Now she was being asked about relationship experiences? It was just so awkward to have to admit she had none.

And Bella had never really thought about whether she liked boys or girls. Now that Alice had asked she wasn't sure about her answer. As she'd never mixed with other people (adults or kids), her only exposure to the topics of sex and sexuality had been via books and from talking to her parents, who had very open and liberal views (Renee in particular was a bit of a closet hippy). Bella had had no experience of prejudice or bigotry, and she was bewildered whenever she read about those sorts of things in books. Why should it matter who you loved or were attracted to?

Bella wasn't naive, just completely without experience. Her unquenchable appetite for reading anything and everything and her perfect memory meant she was VERY well informed about the facts of life and on sex in all its forms, techniques and variations. Even Renee had no real idea what was in the vast library of books at home and on Bella's e-reader, and she would probably have been a little horrified to find out about some of the things her little girl had read. Of course theory was one thing, practice was something else altogether.

Bella tried to imagine herself falling in love, and tried to visualize her ideal person. It wasn't working. Just like at lunch Alice was sitting too close and it was messing with her head. All Bella could picture was the adorable face of pixie next to her.

Bella finally wrote down "No girlfriend. And I don't judge." Bella wished there was more she could say, but right now she didn't have the answers to her own questions.

"Do you like anyone here at school?"

Bella looked at the paper and ignored it for a while, turning her face away to stare out the window. The bell had rung for the end of class when Bella sighed loudly and quickly scratched a reply.

"Maybe."

Alice felt hope take root.

xxxx

Emmett strode into the house that afternoon carrying a squealing Bella over one shoulder, holding pizza in his free hand, and gleefully announced to his waiting family members "Guess what everybody. Bella's a VEGETARIAN!" With her head upside down and pressed up against Emmett's back she couldn't quite work out how many Cullens were laughing at her, but it seemed like a lot.

Bella didn't see what was so funny. And Emmett had teased her all the way home about it too, telling her she could keep her vegetarian pizza to herself and he would get some real food when he got home. She felt a bit guilty for having a diet that was a little different, but he laughed it off and told her his whole family had food and diet issues. Bella realized that must be why they never ate any of the school cafeteria food.

She had been astonished when they had driven up to the Cullen residence and she recognized the gorgeous white mansion she had seen from a distance earlier in the week.

When Emmett had finally put her down inside she was introduced to his mother Esme. Bella thought Esme seemed ridiculously young to have 5 adopted teenagers. Esme hugged Bella warmly (or at least as warmly as someone with an ice cold body and no heart beat could hug). At that point Bella realized the entire Cullen family must share the same 'condition.' And she was beginning to narrow the possible reasons down, even though some things still didn't add up. She wasn't ready to say anything yet. If she was wrong she would look ridiculous.

The house was stunning. It was a magnificent three story white timber mansion that had been completely renovated inside for open plan living. Almost the entire south wall was a wall of glass looking out onto the forest. There was a separate music room and the largest private library Bella had ever seen. She was thrilled when Esme told her she could borrow any books he wanted, and Bella couldn't resist wistfully running her fingers along several rows of rare and beautiful volumes, thinking about the hours of joy she could spend in that room alone. Esme was thrilled to see how much Bella liked the house, and hugged her repeatedly.

When they arrived back in the living room Jasper and Edward were playing some sort of war game on the 70 inch tv that dominated the room. Emmett tried to explain what was going on, then yelled at his brothers to get off.

"Come on, hop off, time to show BellyBear how to have fun."

And Bella did have fun, even though Emmett showed no mercy and beat her again and again in a series of different and equally confusing games. Near the end Bella managed to win once and Emmett seemed even prouder of her than he was of his previously unblemished record. Which was odd, as she was almost certain he let her win.

Throughout the afternoon the other Cullen children had come and gone, watching and laughing and joining in from time to time. Only one of them had stayed all afternoon, at first sitting at the edge of the room, watching, moving from chair to love seat to couch until she was finally sitting on the floor with the two friends. Bella was painfully conscious of Alice's presence throughout, reacting physically with a slow burning blush which brought a hint of pink to her pale face as Alice edged closer and closer.

It was getting dark outside when Alice could take no more and whispered to Emmett to let the poor girl have a break. It was time for the movie marathon.

Alice leaned in close and almost pleaded, "Come on Bells, let's change into pajamas and then you can pick what we watch."

Bella followed Alice upstairs to change, and stood in Alice's doorway, almost speechless as she looked in. "Alice your room is gorgeous."

Alice's room was painted in deep dark colors, the ceiling was decorated with intricate swirling patterns, and there was an entire wall of glass with doors leading out onto a beautiful timber balcony. There was a dressmakers manikin in one corner next to a draftsman table covered with sketches and fabric samples, and art filled the walls. The room was dominated in the center by a huge soft feminine bed.

"Thanks. Esme let me decorate it myself. But you haven't seen the best part yet". Alice opened double doors to reveal a walk-in closet that was bigger than Bella's actual bedroom. The clothes and shoes lined up along the walls made Bella gasp.

Bella opened her overnight bag and pulled out a white sleep tee and pink plaid pajama bottoms, looking around shyly, uncertain where Alice expected her to get changed.

Alice smirked at the girl's obvious discomfort and then relented with an audible sigh. "You can change in my bathroom. I'll change here and meet you downstairs."

When Bella made her way back down all the Cullen children were waiting, taking up various positions around the room in front of the tv. Alice was sitting on an overstuffed couch, and Bella felt her breath hitch when she realized the only spare seat left was next to her. Alice waved her over, passed her popcorn, and casually pulled Bella in close to her side to snuggle, one arm round her shoulders and slipping her free hand into Bella's and entwining their fingers. Every vampire in the room was able to hear Bella's heartbeat speed up.

As the night progressed multiple sets of golden eyes stole glances at the girl snuggled in close to Alice, and by around 10pm they were sharing worried looks. Alice's face confirmed that something was not quite right. Bella hadn't said anything, but she seemed to be growing more tired and restless, and Alice could feel heat radiating from her. Noone was surprized to see Bella had fallen asleep, head drooping onto Alice's shoulder as she snuggled in close, shortly after the second movie had begun.

Alice looked up at Esme with a worried look and whispered."I think she's got a fever Mom."

Esme leaned over the sleeping girl and felt her clammy forehead, then quietly called her husband into the room.

Carlisle held a digital thermometer against Bella's forehead and frowned when he read the measurement. 103. "Definitely high, but not dangerous unless it stays that way for too long. If it gets over 104 I may need to take her in to the hospital. Will you watch her tonight Alice? I'll call her parents to let them know she has a fever."

Alice nodded, trying to quash her growing anxiety. She reluctantly let Emmett pick up the sleeping girl and carry her upstairs. They couldn't risk Bella waking up to find herself being carried by the tiny vampire. That would be hard to explain. Bella's incoherent semi-delirious mumbling would have been cute if they hadn't been worried about her. Emmett placed her between Alice's sheets and gently pried Bella's hands from round his neck. She seemed reluctant to let go of him.

"I think she likes the cold. Maybe you should hold her Tink. It may help keep her comfortable." He left the room quietly, a thoughtful look on his face as he looked back at the two girls.

Alice didn't need any more encouragement and climbed under the sheets with Bella, sitting up against the headboard, sliding an arm under Bella's head to cradle her. She gasped when she felt Bella's burning skin. Bella turned instantly in her sleep, pressing her feverish body against the relief offered by Alice's ice cold body. Alice couldn't resist sliding her fingers across the girl's flushed face to tuck a damp curl of hair behind Bella's ear. Bella's skin seemed to glow with fever and the heat and sweat accentuated Bella's exquisite scent. Even like this Alice couldn't help but think Bella was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen, and she allowed herself one small indulgence, leaning down to kiss Bella's heated forehead.

Carlisle popped his head in the door and whispered. "I spoke to Mrs Swan. She sounded a bit panicked when I told her. She said Bella never gets sick. Not just rarely, but never. I calmed her down, told her it's a moderate fever and she's better off here than anywhere. But I can't help thinking there's more to it. I'll call her again in the morning when Bella wakes up. Take care of her sweetheart." Carlisle had the feeling that it was only because he was a doctor that Renee Swan hadn't driven out to pick up her daughter the moment he called.

Alice nodded to her father, not even looking up.

Bella spent the night tossing and turning, unconsciously searching for the comfort of Alice's cool body, pushing away again and again as she whimpered in pain. Alice called Carlisle in three times during the night whenever it seemed worse, but each time he checked her fever it was the same. Finally around 4am Bella seemed to relax, falling into a natural sleep. Carlisle came in to check once more and when he noticed his daughter's inky black eyes he insisted that Alice go hunt. He left the door open and promised to listen from his office in case Bella woke up. Alice protested, but the night's torments and proximity to Bella, awash in her scent, had aroused her hunger, and she knew her father was right. Alice kissed the top of Bella's head and whispered that she'd be quick, promising to be back before Bella awoke.

Alice had barely left the house when Bella woke up with a start, reaching out as though searching for something that should have been there, confused by unfamiliar surroundings, her back burning even worse than before. She slid quietly out of bed onto soft carpet, and stumbled out towards the moonlit balcony, seeking the relief of cool fresh air. The world was spinning as she tripped and fell against the rail, her momentum tipping her until she started to fall. The last thing she remembered was the ground rushing up to meet her as she tumbled forwards, screaming in agony, the sound of tearing fabric, air whooshing around her as her back seemed to explode with searing pain.

By the time Carlisle had blurred into Alice's room Bella was gone.


	12. Author's note

**AN: Not an update sorry, just an apology for the cliffhangers. I'm not deliberately teasing. I just have a series of images in my head and kind of stop when I've finished writing them down. And I feel like I'm forcing the story a bit much without spending time making it flow and writing better conversations, but it's either get it down fast or spend even longer in between chapters and maybe get bored and not finish.**

**And just a heads up – there will be no La Push or Jacob Black. That storyline usually bores me to tears, unless it involves Bella as a shapeshifter putting him in his place (which she isn't in this story).**

**Also, the responses I've had have asked not to go too dark, so I won't. That's probably a good thing for my first ever fanfic. Maybe once I've worked out what the hell I'm doing I may try it in another story, but I'm probably out of my depth for a first time.**

**A few of you have guessed what Bella is. I hope I can keep it interesting. And now that a couple of similar storylines have been mentioned by a couple of reviewers (thanks for the heads up), I've started looking some ofthem up to read them. One called Fallen by B. Silverbow is epic (149K words), complex and beautifully written and OMG I did not intend to use an almost identical idea at the start but apparently I did so now I feel like aCOMPLETE loser. How the *** did that happen? Maybe I read it or something like it ages ago and forgot? This story will never be anything but a pale (unintentional I swear) imitation.**

**Thanks for reading.**


	13. Falling

It was the sound that broke through the dark fog shrouding Bella's mind. A steady gentle whoomping sound. Low and hypnotic. She heard and felt cold air rushing across her body, and briefly wondered why she wasn't already in pain or dead after hitting the ground. Maybe she was dead.

Cautiously she opened her eyes and was instantly bombarded by thin streaking lines of bright light spinning around and around her in a sea of inky darkness. She felt as though she was tumbling over and over as the world spun around her.

'_I'm still falling.' _She panicked, closing her eyes again, throwing out her arms in front of her face and tucking her legs into her body as if to brace for impact. Nothing changed, except the whoosh of air seemed to slow a little.

She opened her eyes again and this time she realized she wasn't falling. She was hurtling upwards in a chaotic spiral, spinning so fast the stars were nothing but streaky lines of white light. She stiffened in shock, and that was when she felt the power flowing from her back. She twisted her head to the right was shocked to see a massive pure white feathery wing, at least 6 feet across, gently beating in steady powerful surges. She looked left and saw its match.

'_I'm dreaming_.'

She willed it to stop. So it did. Her wings ceased all movement and she felt herself falling. Panic set in as she looked down to see herself at least 1,000 feet in the air, but tumbling downwards. '_No_.' And instantly her wings responded with two powerful steady beats, arresting her fall.

The surge of power was exhilarating and Bella managed to laugh, the sound carried away on cool pre-dawn air. She experimented, working out how to make her body lift and twist and dive through the air, for the first time in her life feeling graceful and free and in control of her body. Her skin was wet, top shredded and barely hanging to her body, pajama bottoms soaked from the moisture in the air, plastering them to her skin.

She flew higher, into cool soaking clouds, giggling as the world turned white. Then she flew downwards, seeing the lights of Forks in the distance, the tiny red and blue lights of early morning traffic moving slowly through the town like toys on a miniature diorama. She turned north, and sought out her home on the edge of town, knowing her father would soon be waking to get ready for work. She saw the white mansion in the distance and hovered high in the air, wondering what to do, then turned to circle lazily over the surrounding forest.

As she hovered she looked down, and realized her eyesight and hearing had changed again. She could zoom in on impossibly small details, catching the tiniest movement of mice and insects on the forest floor. Her focus flitted from detail to detail, and each was a perfect microcosm of breathtaking beauty. Larger movements caught her eye and she turned to see a small herd of deer scatter in panic just as a tiny black-haired figure hurled herself upon a single animal, bringing it to the ground and twisting its neck as she buried her face in its neck.

Bella heard the snap of the breaking neck and screamed instinctively. Once again she felt herself falling, out of control, as the world turned black again.

xxxxx

**Alice's POV**

As I drained the large deer I heard a strange sound, like a scream, carried on the wind. Something about it interrupted my feeding beast and I turned towards the noise, lifting my face. I caught a blurred white object falling rapidly from the sky. It seemed strangely familiar, and when I heard it crash through the branches of nearby trees followed by a dull thud I blurred towards it as fast as I could.

What I found shocked me to my core. Bella lay unconscious on the ground, face down, limbs thrown outwards at awkward angles, surrounded and covered by the detritus of broken branches and leaves, her clothes torn to shreds, barely covering her. I looked up in confusion, wondering how she had come to be here, before realizing that the falling figure had been Bella.

I crouched in front of her, desperate to check her for injury, but was struggling to think clearly in the face of the overwhelming feelings of protectiveness and love and lust that were swirling in my brain like a thick fog.

It was at that moment I realized the unconscious girl was different to the Bella I knew.

My breath hitched as I noticed every detail, her pale skin was perfect, almost glowing in the dim light of early morning. Her eyes were closed as though she was asleep, long dark eyelashes contrasting starkly against the paleness of her heart shaped face. Each feature was a study in perfection, her full pouty mouth and deep pink lips, her delicately shaped nose, her high cheek bones and the arches of her eyebrows. Her long chestnut hair seemed even thicker than before, spreading like soft silk over her shoulders. Her beauty now surpassed even the inhuman beauty of my family.

As I leaned in to lift the unconscious girl I noticed the marks on her bare shoulders. They were covered with an intricate and beautiful array of fine semi-translucent lines, feathering outwards from her spine and across each shoulder like matching white tattoos. It took me a moment to realize they looked like wings.

I picked her up as gently as I could and started running, screaming for Carlisle as I blurred towards the house. I was met halfway by my entire family, Carlisle quickly telling me that they had been looking for her after she disappeared from the house. I told them what I'd seen as we ran. Dawn broke as I carried her inside, shaking with fear for her. "Please Carlisle, make her ok, make her ok." I was shocked to hear myself growl as he gently pried her from my arms and lay her on the nearest couch. I felt Esme touch my arm softly, tugging me aside so Carlisle could look at Bella, and my eyes welled with unshedable venom as the need to weep overwhelmed me.

Carlisle had barely begin to check her over, gently lifting fragile limbs to search for injury, when we heard her stir.

"A... Alice?".


	14. Secrets revealed

_Dawn broke as I carried her inside, shaking with fear for her. "Please Carlisle, make her ok, make her ok." I was shocked to hear myself growl as he gently pried her from my arms and lay her on the nearest couch. I felt Esme touch my arm softly, tugging me aside so Carlisle could look at Bella, and my eyes welled with unshedable venom as the need to weep overwhelmed me._

_Carlisle had barely begun to check her over, gently lifting fragile limbs to search for injury, when we heard her stir._

_"A... Alice?"._

xxxxx

**Alice's POV**

The moment I heard her voice, soft and husky, the relief was overwhelming. I saw her start to sit up, looking for me, and I moved to Carlisle's left, into Bella's line of sight. Her eyes flickered and widened, and then she was off the couch and into my arms at a speed that was almost vampiric, wrapping her arms around me to hold me with a tight embrace that would have been crushing if I were human.

Her face pressed into my neck, arms were around me, pulling my body into hers, drowning me in her scent, which was still the same sweet mix of freesias, vanilla and strawberries and something unknown but unmistakeably Bella, but now it was infinitely more complex and enticing. There were elements of the forest after rain, wildflowers and the smell of freshly fallen snow.

I lost the ability to think coherently. '_Mine_.' My hands were around her waist, tugging her even closer. '_Mine. Mine. Mine_.' I let my hands roam her body and as I felt bare skin under her damp shredded top my breath hitched, my throat burning with something that was nothing like hunger. I moved my right hand up through her soft hair, to her neck, to her cheek, to bring her face to mine. To kiss her.

Our lips were so close, I could taste her breath, making my head spin. I wanted this more than I had ever wanted anything. "Mine" I whispered.

"Alice."

"Alice."

"ALICE!" I felt a hand tugging me from behind at my waist and barely registered Esme's voice as I spun around in a protective crouch in front of my mate, growling, ready to strike.

There were noises in the background, soft coughing and throats being cleared and I realized what I'd done. I'd fucking _growled_ at my mother.

Esme's face registered surprise, and then amusement, helping ease my embarrassment.

"Fucking hot! Even if it is my sister and Babybell." I heard Emmett whisper and I wanted to kill him. Or at least do serious damage.

"Emmett Cullen!" Esme turned to glare at her son, before turning back to me, sympathy etched on her loving face. "It's ok honey, we understand, but now isn't the time." Her eyes flicked over to Bella with affection, then back to me.

I half expected to hear Rosalie crack him over the head, when I realized she was actually behind me, touching my mate, and I turned again, my anger barely in check. She was dressing Bella in a soft grey zip-up hoodie, coaxing each her arms through the sleeves like you would a child, as she gently led her back to the couch, placing her against soft cushions and sitting next to her, taking one hand in hers. I took a step backwards, ashamed at the jealousy I felt as I looked at their hands.

My eyes met Bella's and I was by her other side before she'd even finished lifting her free hand to reach for me. I took her hand in mine and her relieved smile made my heart ache. It was almost impossible, but I forced myself to look away from her and up into the faces of my remaining family. I had no idea what to do next.

It was a shock when it was Bella who spoke.

"You're vampires." It wasn't a question.

My head whipped back to her face, expecting to see horror and disgust. She seemed calm. But puzzled.

"It crossed my mind, but then I thought it was ridiculous. I mean, they're not supposed to exist and you don't even have _fangs_. You go to _school_. And in daylight. And you're all so nice and kind and you live in this beautiful home just like normal people. Well, not so normal. You're all so perfect. You don't turn into bats do you? Or there aren't, umm, coffins in the basement are there? And then, then I saw Alice in the forest and she was .. she was hunting. I kind of .. it was just so .. _unexpected_. I think I fainted." She looked at me apologetically.

I'd never heard he say so many words at once and I would have laughed if I wasn't feeling a little sick. But at least it was clear the fall hadn't damaged her head.

"Woohoo! FINALLY. I was about to give up and tell you myself." Emmett was literally bouncing like a 12 year old at Christmas.

Carlisle came to my rescue. "Yes Bella, we are vampires. And no, we don't turn into bats. Or sleep in coffins. In fact we don't sleep at all."

Before he could say more Esme leaned into his ear, whispering, and he nodded. "Bella, this may all be a little overwhelming, and I need to explain and talk to you too, about, well, about what has happened to you. Would you mind doing that?"

Bella tensed and I squeezed her hand as reassuringly as I could, trying to let her know everything was ok. She bit her bottom lip, nodding, and then said "Mum and Dad. They, they don't know about me. Well, of course they know about me, just not about what happened, last night."

"Do you want me to call them?"

Bella looked conflicted. "I .. I don't know. Maybe we could talk first? I want, I want to try and understand first. It will be easier to explain to them. Would that be ok?"

"Of course Bella. Would you come into my study? I have some books there I need to look through. Esme and Alice can come too if that would make you feel better."

She nodded again. I don't think Carlisle could have pulled her hand from mine if he'd tried.

We took her into Carlisle's study and sat on the couch across from Carlisle's desk. Esme and Carlisle sat across from us. Both their faces were full of kindness and concern, though Carlisle was clearly desperately curious as well. Calling on years of professional experience he managed to focus on the task at hand, and he started to explain about us.

As Bella listened with a fascinated intense look of concentration I realized she didn't seem afraid or upset. In fact it was eery just how calm she seemed, taking it all in, clearly eager to learn about us. Her curiosity was endearing, and her questions seemed remarkably intuitive. A half smile appeared on her face when Carlisle explained out diet to her, mentioning the family in-joke.

"So, you're ... vegetarians? Emmett is SO dead for teasing me."

Each of us offered up some details about how we were made, although in my case I couldn't tell her much about my human life or what happened to turn me. My story seemed to make her uncomfortable and I felt her rise from the couch, letting go of my hand, as she slowly started to walk around the room, taking in the books and papers Carlisle had scattered about.

She glanced at the rarest volumes hidden behind fireproof glass, and I heard a sharp intake of breath as she peered in closer at one small leather-bound folio. "Is that?"

"Yes. Aristotle's _Second Book of Poetics_, on comedy. It's in Latin of course. The original Greek really has been lost. But this volume, it's unique."

Carlisle's eyes narrowed and he looked at Bella thoughtfully.

"Do you read Latin?"

"Hmmm? Oh .. uh .. yes."

"How many languages do you know?"

She giggled in discomfort. "A few. Well I can read quite a few. But I haven't had as much practice speaking them. I guess I'm fluent in about 20 languages, and I could get by with another 10 or so if I had to."

"Bella, how old are you?" Esme asked.

She blushed deeper than I'd ever seen her blush.

I squeezed her hand again. "It's ok. I've already told you I'm older than I look. I've been frozen at 19 for a very long time. I ... we ... really don't care how old you are."

"It .. it's not that. Ummm .. Well, I was born not far from here. Well, not born, my parents found me."

"Found you?" Esme gasped.

"In Olympic Park. Whilst they were hiking."

"Your parents abandoned you in a park? You .. you could have died." Esme couldn't hide the disgust she felt at the thought of parents abandoning an infant alone and helpless in a park, leaving her to die.

"N .. no. It wasn't like that. My parents told me they were camping and they woke up to a loud noise and a bight light and found me. I .. they think I'd fallen from the sky. I was all alone, a baby, and they looked after me. They've been looking after me ever since."

I froze. Almost afraid to ask, but unable to think of anything but that strange morning 5 years ago. Looking up at her as I asked, wincing when I heard how unsteady my voice was, "Bella, when did it happen?"

She looked down into my eyes, seeing my uncertainty, clearly reluctant to answer. Her reply was so soft we wouldn't have heard if we weren't vampires. "Five years ago."

"You're FIVE? Oh my God." I couldn't help it, I dropped her hand in shock.

"Please Alice. I'm just different. But I'm still me. Do I look five? I'm not."

I released her hand and backed away, not because of Bella, but because I was disgusted with myself. "You're five! You're a CHILD!"

"Pleeease Alice. Don't be mad. You hate me, don't you? I'm a freak. I fucking sprout wings and I'm a freak."

"W .. wings?"

Bella looked so sad I wanted to crush her to me and hold her until she smiled again, but I couldn't.

"I flew. It's never happened before. But there were wings. Big white feathery wings. On my freaking back." She grimaced when she realized the '_on my back_' comment was a little redundant.

"May I see?" Carlisle asked.

Bella nodded shyly, and let him approach, turning. He carefully lifted the grey hoodie to inspect her back.

I couldn't help the ache in my stomach when I saw the perfect form of her bare back, and could now see more clearly the marks I'd barely glimpsed back in the forest.

My God they were sexy. Perfect images of feathery wings arched out across her shoulders in incredible semi-translucent detail, from the center of her back, across her shoulders and half way down her back, ending as they curved around her sides. As she moved the light caught the fine detail, highlighting each intricate and perfect feather. If an artist had drawn this they would have been a master.

"Do they hurt?" I whispered.

Bella shook her head. "I can feel them, like a warm tingling feeling. That's all."

Carlisle hmmed softly to himself, walking over to his library, pulling out and discarding several volumes, skimming a few and frowning as he read, before selecting an old thick volume from a section of religious texts. He started flicking through fragile pages of parchment, reading quickly.

Finally he looked up.

"Bella. Do you know what you are?"

She shook her head in frustration.

"I will need to do more research. There is a lot I will need to check. But I can tell you a little. There are many stories of supernatural creatures. Some true, like vampires. There are also werewolves and shapeshifters and other even rarer creatures. But most stories are simply fables. You, I think you've guessed what the humans call your kind but you're not willing to say it. According to my limited resources (he waved his hand over his library) your kind has been around even longer than vampires, and when you first appeared humans thought you were messengers of God. Angels. But the stories are all mixed up. Some is true, but much is likely completely false, just like the stories about vampires. According to vampiric legend angels are supernaturals from another realm, infrequent visitors who could do great good or great evil. Judaic and Christian mythology built up around angels long after they had first appeared. I don't know much about your powers or if you have any unique .. _gifts_ .. like some vampires. I'll need to do more research and perhaps we could do some tests, if you would let me? Obviously you can fly. And you have enhanced senses?"

Bella nodded, but I could sense her growing panic.

"All evidence suggests you are probably immortal, though you seem a little more fragile than a vampire. You have a heartbeat and blood pumps through your veins like a human, indicating you can bleed and very likely be hurt. Though you weren't hurt when you fell, so you may have increased strength or healing qualities. Or perhaps you just don't get hurt when you fall - that would be a bit of a design flaw." (I was intensely annoyed to see him smile at that). "In fact the books I have reveal very little, and until now I don't think anyone believed there was any truth to their existence, but here you are."

I love my Dad but right now I could almost have hit him. I could feel my anger growing. For a centuries old doctor he really did seem completely lacking in sensitivity right now. Perhaps he was a little blinded by the supernatural character of the beautiful being in front of him, so different to his usual human patients. Instead of sensing Bella's growing panic he was actually _delighted_ by the mystery in front of him. I was dismayed to realize we should have asked Jasper to join us. At least the concern on Esme's face indicated she shared my feelings, and I was secretly pleased to see the look of annoyance she threw her husband.

"I .. I think I need my Mom."


	15. Sleeping angels

**AN: A bit of necessary but teasing filler. Not a lot of plot. Forgive me.**

_Instead of sensing Bella's growing panic Carlisle was actually delighted by the mystery in front of him. I was dismayed to realize we should have asked Jasper to join us. At least the concern on Esme's face indicated she shared my feelings, and I was secretly pleased to see the look of annoyance she threw her husband._

_"I .. I think I need my Mom."_

**Alice's POV**

That was the tipping point, the moment Bella seemed to falter under the weight of everything that had happened overnight and what had now been revealed by Carlisle.

It took all my effort not to explode at Carlisle for his insensitivity, but I didn't want to put any more stress on Bella. Instead I hissed at him, hands clenching as I struggled not to hit out, turning with my back to Bella and throwing him a look of pure fury, whispering to him as emphatically as I could "ENOUGH!"

I could feel my fingernails piercing the palms of my hands as I willed myself not to strike him. His eyes widened in surprise. I could see confusion on his face as his happiest, most carefree child, the one who was usually a ball of uncontrollable joy and energy, looked at him with nothing but barely controlled anger, coiled with tension and ready to erupt. I saw his face change, as shock gave way to a flicker of something that looked like comprehension and guilt, and what may even have been a hint of amusement, as he nodded imperceptibly.

I moved to take Bella in my arms and felt her weight leaning against me, and I didn't hesitate to pick her up, carrying her out of the room. She pressed her face into my neck, her breath warm on my cold skin, and I forced myself to stop breathing as her fragrance wound around me.

As we left Carlisle's study I felt a wave of calm wash over us, as Jasper picked up on the anxiety coursing through the girl in my arms. She shifted, sighing, and I felt her body relax, easing my sense of helplessness. I turned back to give him a look of gratitude as before I headed up the stairs to my room.

Esme followed me upstairs and we continued a hurried conversation in whispers too low and fast for human ears. We had no way of knowing whether Bella was listening or could understand us, but she showed no signs of it as she continued to hug me tightly. Esme would call Bella's parents in a few hours and invite them over, to explain what had happened to Bella and what little we knew about her 'kind'. We couldn't see any way of safely revealing ourselves to them, but we would try to tell them enough to help them understand we were also not human and would do everything we could to help. And our ongoing involvement wasn't even up for debate, Esme was just as adamant as I was that Bella was now a part of our family and needed our protection. In the meantime we'd try to get her to sleep for a few hours.

I carried Bella into my bathroom and set her down on her feet, frowning when she swayed a little, shoulders drooping.

"Sweetie, you need a warm shower first, then I'm putting you back in bed. When you wake up we'll have your parents here, ok?"

She nodded, heavily lidded eyes emphasizing the exhaustion that seemed to flow off her in waves.

I turned on the shower and adjusted the temperature, making it as warm as I thought she could stand it without burning. She stood there completely compliant, but made no move to assist, and I had no option but to help undress her. It only made her seem more like the child I now understood her to be. I slipped her out of the hoodie that Rose had dressed her in, one arm after the other, then simply away tore the remaining shreds of her tshirt.

I knelt down behind her, tugging her still damp pajama bottoms down her legs, turning my head away and trying not to look at her as she stepped out of them. But the pull I felt towards her, the need to look, was irresistible. And so I looked. She was perfection to me. Her hair hung over one shoulder, leaving the other bare, displaying the left half of her incredible mark. On close inspection it was possible to see each individual detail of each perfect feathery image, alternating between translucent, white and pale gold. It was in stark contrast to the rest of her skin, which was pale, smooth and unblemished, apart from an almost invisible dusting of freckles on her small sweet nose.

I guided her into the shower and watched as she just stood there like a statue with her back to me, hunched and shivering in spite of the heat, a small figure of misery. I hesitated for only a moment before I undressed quickly, stepped in behind her, and began to wash her. She stiffened as she felt me behind her, then I felt her body relax.

I tried to be as gentle and clinical as I could, but I could do nothing to stop the reaction of my body from being so close to my mate, no barrier of clothing between us. If the sight of her wasn't enough, the scent that was spilling from her, concentrated in her most intimate places, was making it hard for me to hold it together. Venom pooled in my mouth and I forced myself to gulp mouthful after mouthful, feeling it burn like acid in my throat and stomach.

Bella's skin glowed with the faint pink of heat as her body warmed under the shower, although the intensifying scent of her blood made me think that it wasn't just heat that was infusing her with that pale pink blush. She had the toned body of a healthy teenager but there was clearly more to it than that now. Before she had seemed adorably coltish and clumsy, like someone who had yet to grow into their own body, overnight she had found an inner grace and now seemed to radiate with power and strength, despite her exhausted and emotionally fragile state. As I washed her I noted the strong ribbons of muscle under her soft skin, her small perfect breasts with dusky pink nipples, the small dark triangle of soft curls ... '_Oh God, I had to stop looking at her like this, concentrate Alice ...'_

It was the most exquisite torment.

I washed Bella's hair first, having to reach up on my toes as Bella had at least two inches over me in height. I lathered her long hair with the expensive organic shampoo I insisted upon, as it contained no harsh industrial chemicals, just subtle hints of mango, strawberry and vanilla. I rinsed and conditioned for her, careful to avoid any soapy water spilling over her sweet face, noting her closed eyes and the barely audible moans she made as I massaged her scalp. The winged images on her back seemed to shimmer softly as water ran over her back. I began washing her body with a soft cloth, lathering generously, taking care not to linger on those parts of her that made my core ache, her breasts, her abs, her ass, the tiny patch of soft curls above her sex.

I tried to stay objective, dispassionate, but Bella kept leaning back against me, as though deliberately trying to tease. Every time our skin made contact I could feel a spark flying between us like a jolt of static electricity, making the knot in my stomach tighten painfully. I had again swept Bella's hair up to one side and found myself leaning forwards, my lips painfully close to kissing the nape of Bella's neck, hovering for agonizing seconds as I struggled with my need and desire. I bit down hard on my bottom lip, piercing the skin, hoping the pain would bring clarity.

I have no idea how I managed not to give in and ravish her.

Finally I turned off the shower and wrapped both of us in large thick white towels, seating her on the side of my bath for a moment to dry myself quickly and pull on an oversized tshirt, before turning back to her and tenderly towel-drying her hair and body. Esme had left another top and soft grey sweat pants in my room and I dressed her in them, then carried her back and lay her down on my bed under the covers. She wouldn't release me so I lay down beside her, half seated as she rolled over almost on her tummy and half across my body, using me as a pillow, her head pressed against my chest, one arm reaching up over my shoulder, the other around my waist. I listened to her breathing slow and deepen as sleep quickly overtook her.

I lay there holding her, trying desperately to search the future for any sort of sensible premonition involving Bella, but I remained frustrated. I sensed her presence on the edges of my visions, but any clear image of various possible futures involving Bella continued to be hidden from me.

I gave up searching the future and instead watched the sleeping girl. Well, sleeping _angel_, literally. Her face had relaxed completely in her sleep and I decided I could be happy watching her like this forever. After almost an hour she began to dream and I watched her twitch and whimper softly. She mumbled nonsense in her sleep. It made absolutely no sense and like so many things about my Bella it was adorable. Her hands and feet twitched almost rhythmically. It was like watching a sleeping puppy as it dreamed of running. I would have given anything to know what angels dream of.

Then the most extraordinary thing happened. Without any warning, and heralded only by the briefest sound of tearing fabric, two massive pure white wings sprang from the sleeping girl's back so quickly that even I couldn't see them emerge. One moment I held a sleeping girl in my arms. The next a winged angel. They arched high in the air throwing the bed covers back without even disturbing her, then gently settled down around to cocoon both our bodies in the softest warmest embrace I have ever felt. I did the only thing I could do. I lay there, softly purring.

I had a feeling Bella may have to learn to sleep topless for a while.

**Renee's POV**

I'd had a sleepless night since Dr Cullen's phone call, worrying about Bella and wondering whether or not we shouldn't just drive over and collect our daughter. A fever? The fear of the unknown made Charlie and I think of a thousand different possibilities, each one worse than the previous.

We were both awake early, not long after dawn, and went downstairs to eat what seemed like a tasteless breakfast. We barely spoke, each of us afraid to voice what we were thinking.

Around 8.30 the phone rang, making me jump even though I was expecting it.

"Hello?"

"Mrs Swan? It's Carlisle Cullen." I motioned to Charlie to pick up the second line.

"Is Bella ok?

"Her fever has gone down and she seems fine. She's still asleep, but there's something we need to talk about."

'_Oh god, did they find out about Bella?_' Charlie and I exchanged frantic looks.

"We'll come pick her up. Bella left your address for us."

"Please, by all means come right over but, well, you should stay awhile so we can talk. I wish I could reassure you over the phone, there honestly is nothing for you to be concerned about, but you'll understand when you get here. She really is quite special."

Charlie and I looked at each other and cringed. The mention of Bella being 'special' did nothing to reassure us. Would we have to move again after just settling in?

We were in the car within minutes, unable to shake the feeling of foreboding that hung over both of us as we drove out of town towards the Cullen house.


	16. The Morning After

Carlisle had spent the previous 2 and a half hours in his study, door closed, deep in research. He had made some progress, but it was frustrating. His own library was extensive and had revealed a few more possible clues. He wished he could have contacted the library at Volterra in Italy, but that was out of the question. It would have piqued the curiosity of the librarian and possibly even the Volturi royalty, and that was far too dangerous.

He was able to call a friend in the Alexandria coven whose passion for translating ancient hieroglyphs and even older Sumerian tablets had uncovered a few potentially interesting leads about supernatural creatures that were almost certainly 'angels'. Carlisle puzzled over the translations that had been emailed to him. The physical attributes matched, particularly the Sumerian myths of gods and goddesses in human form with 'thunderbird wings', but some of the contradictory elements were puzzling. The brief fragments described both awesome beings of great power who had gifts such as the ability to control the seasons and elements, and terrifying demons of destruction and vengeance. Neither seemed to bear any resemblance to the innocent child asleep upstairs. But then most of the myths about vampires were wrong too, and the texts Carlisle was reading were far more ancient than anything he'd ever encountered about his own kind.

Another more contemporary line of enquiry (at least one involving potential sources from the last millennium) was through an old friend in Rome through whom he had previously gained access to documents in the Vatican's secret archives. Although the 'secret' archive was now open to approved scholars and researchers, access remained restricted for thousands of hidden documents that were still considered too sensitive or damaging to the Church. Carlisle had phoned his old friend as though on a whim, saying hello and asking after him, chatting casually and ending the call with a promise to call again and perhaps arrange a visit soon. He couldn't rush it, needing to be careful, to hide the true nature of his interest, and above all to avoid anything to do with the Volturi, to ensure Bella's existence remained a secret as long as possible.

It was no longer just Carlisle's insatiably curious nature guiding his actions. Having observed Alice's interactions with the young girl upstairs, and aware of his family's growing fondness for her, there was no option for any of them but to try keep Bella safe from those who might try to destroy her or claim ownership of her. That meant making Bella's parents as comfortable as possible with his family, and convincing them that they would do everything they could to protect her.

Carlisle opened the door to his study to call for his wife, and after a brief conversation picked up the phone to call the Swans.

xxx

Upstairs in Alice's bedroom two heads poked out above the cocoon of two pure white wings, one fast asleep, the other calm but watchful.

Alice looked down at the top of Bella's head, unable to see her face as it rested against Alice's chest, feeling the warmth of each soft breath of air, noting how each breath ruffled the downy feathers on the edge of Bella's left wing. It was hypnotizing, watching the gentle ripple of feathers closest to Bella's nose as they moved in time with Bella's breathing.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

The rhythm was broken only by an occasional wriggle, whimper or soft murmur from the sleeping girl.

Alice had given in to curiosity not long after Bella's wings had appeared, lifting one hand from where it was pinned underneath a wing to explore tentatively. Her wings were solid but incredibly light, soft and malleable, almost like silk, and seemed to move with a subtle ripple of power in response to Alice's delicate touch. Surprisingly, they were quite warm. And they captured Bella's heat and scent, bathing Alice in her essence. There was no aching burn in Alice's throat for Bella's blood, and Alice felt instinctively that she would never feel any such overwhelming pull for Bella. But the scent was doing other things to Alice, making her feel heady and intoxicated. She shivered occasionally, but not from cold, her back arching just a little and relaxing again, toes curling, making her take unnecessary ragged breaths. Eventually she became completely still, heavy eyes closing, the sensation almost like sleeping.

Some time later Alice had opened her eyes, amazed to realize how completely relaxed she felt.

Around 8.30 her thoughts of the girl in her arms were interrupted by the phone conversation downstairs, and Alice sighed heavily, disappointed to know she would have to wake the sleeping girl.

"Bella."

"Bella."

The sleeping girl began to stir, and Alice felt hands and toes wriggling, followed by a small sleepy grumble and the beginnings of an almost feline stretch. Bella slowly lifted her face and Alice could see her struggling to open sleep-filled eyes, a grimace appearing as they opened to bright light flowing in from the window behind the bed.

Then Bella stiffened. Whimpering as she realized where she was and how she had been clinging to Alice. Alice saw the flash of emotion on Bella's face as she caught sight of the edge of her wings. The next moments were a blur. Bella leapt up on her knees, squeaking, wings retracting instantly, the momentum pushing her off the side of the bed where she landed with a soft thud in a sprawl of arms and legs. Even sensing Bella's discomfort, Alice couldn't help but smile as the chain of events unfolded, and couldn't help but think it was like watching a new foal learning its legs.

Bella's mortification became complete when she realized she was now topless, and she ducked down low on the floor out of Alice's line of sight. Alice could no longer withhold a bell-like giggle when she saw a thin pale arm reach up over the side of the bed to grab a pillow, before Bella slowly stood up holding it defensively in front of her as she tried to casually saunter over to her bag, disappearing with it into the bathroom. The bright red blush covering her face and much of her upper body spoiled her attempt to look calm and casual.

Alice changed her clothes and walked into the bathroom several minutes later to find Bella also dressed and brushing her teeth, mouth full of toothpaste. Their eyes met in the mirror.

"So, angel huh?"

"Mmpire?" Bella mumbled, still brushing.

"Yep."

"...anks for taying wif me."

"No worries. That's what .. _friends_ do. And the wings are cool."

Bella shrugged, completely aware that Alice was trying hard to make everything sound as normal as possible, but grateful all the same.

Spitting and rinsing, she turned to face Alice. "Kind of freaky though."

"I think they're beautiful. I think you're beautiful."

Her fading blush returned in full glorious color.

"Your parents are on their way. Come downstairs and have some breakfast. Everything is going to be fine."

Alice slipped her hand in Bella's and gently led her out of the room, silently marveling at how perfectly their hands fit together.

xxxxx

Bella hadn't realized how hungry she was until Esme pushed a stack of blueberry pancakes in front of her. She smiled gratefully up in to Esme's warm eyes and started to eat. Her eyes went wide when she took her first bite of fluffy goodness.

"Wow Esme, these are really good," earning a warm smile from the clearly delighted cook.

Emmett was sitting across from Bella, smiling encouragingly, doing his best to keep Bella's mood light. When he noticed Bella's mood subtly change, her face looking pensive, he opted to tackle the angelic elephant in the room in his own special way. Fixing her with what looked suspiciously like a lovelorn look, he began to tease her with a series of increasingly cheesy pickup lines:

"So Bells, did it hurt? When you fell from heaven?"

"Babybell, somebody better call God, cuz he's missing an angel!"

"Can you touch me so I can tell my friend's I've been touched by an angel?"

Bella had to stop herself from flicking the piece of pancake on her fork at him. She couldn't hide a small grin though. Rosalie's groan of "For God's sake Emmett, leave the poor girl alone or I'll more than _TOUCH_ you myself alright," floating in from living room turned the grin into a small giggle.

Alice smiled softly at her ridiculous brother, all the while never letting go of Bella's free hand.

"Bella. There's something we have to ask you, and it might seem hard, but we're only asking because it is so important."

Bella stopped chewing and looked up at Esme again.

"We're not allowed to tell anyone what we are. There are rules. Rules we have to follow and if we don't the consequences are bad. The worst kind of bad. For us and for any humans that know about us. So we can't tell your parents that we are vampires and I'm really sorry but we have to ask you not to tell them either. It's for their own safety. And yours. Do you understand? Can you do that? Not tell them .. everything?"

Alice squeezed her hand, gaining Bella's attention, and nodded pleadingly.

Bella paused, thinking it over. She had never deliberately lied in her life. But even she had some secrets from her Mom and Dad. Just small personal stuff, but the principle was the same. And she felt she could trust Esme. There was something about her that seemed to exude motherly affection and made you want to please her. And even if it hadn't been Esme asking, it was what Alice wanted and Bella didn't seem to want to say no to anything Alice asked for.

"OK."

"OK?"

"OK. I wont say anything about what you are. But what are we going to tell them?"

"Leave that to us sweetie. Let us take the lead when we talk to your Mom and Dad? We don't want to lie, we just can't tell them everything. Anyway, I can hear them coming down the driveway now."

xxxxx

Renee and Charlie swan stopped their car in the driveway and, even in the tense circumstances, couldn't help but appreciate the casual beauty of the house in front of them.

"Wow."

"Very nice. Now let's go rescue our daughter." Charlie was only half-joking.

They looked up to the large porch to see the front door open, and were a little surprised to see Emmett Cullen bounding out to greet them enthusiastically.

"Hey Mr and Mrs Swan, great to see you. Come on inside and meet everyone. Bella's just finishing up a plate of Mom's blueberry pancakes."

It all seemed so normal, the boy wasn't acting like anything bad had happened last night, maybe it was just a mild fever after all. Both parents relaxed just a little. Though Charlie did flinch a little when he shook the boys ice cold hand before following him up the steps onto the porch and inside, where he led them to a tastefully decorated but homey living room.

Charlie scanned the room, his old surveillance habits coming to the fore, as Carlisle Cullen stepped up to shake his hand.

"Chief Swan. Mrs Swan. Welcome to our home. Bella will be out in a minute. Mrs Swan, you already know all our children, but may I introduce your husband to my other two sons, Jasper and Edward, and my daughter Rosalie." Each male shook Charlie's hand in turn and his sense of unease grew as he realized each had the same freezing but rock hard handshake, pale skin and golden eyes. He suppressed a small gasp when looking at the young female, who simply acknowledged the elder Swans with a nod and slight smile. Charlie couldn't help but notice the girl's extraordinary beauty, and it crossed his mind that she was perhaps the most beautiful woman he had ever met.

"Nice to see you again Dr Cullen." Charlie had met him several times in the last few weeks while on duty, when visiting the hospital for various reasons. He had a lot of respect for the man and his abilities, and knew a small hospital like Forks General was lucky to have such a gifted doctor and surgeon on staff.

"It's Carlisle, please?"

"Carlisle then, and please, call us Charlie and Renee?"

Just then Esme entered the room, followed by Alice and Bella.

Renee stepped forward. "Bella, sweetheart", opening her arms. That was when Renee noted with some interest that the two girls were not only holding hands but had the length of their arms interlocked and pressed tight to each other's sides. '_Curious_', but barely had time to think before being overwhelmed with details that she hadn't first noticed in her relief at seeing her daughter.

Bella was .. different.

Bella hesitated for a moment, squeezed Alice's hand, releasing it almost reluctantly, then ran into her mother's arms. As Renee hugged her daughter, kissing her on the top of her head, both Charlie and Renee were taking stock of a multitude of subtle changes in their daughter.

She had run across the room with a grace and speed that was completely unfamiliar. Her features seemed different, almost ethereally beautiful. Gone were her softer, more rounded features, the last vestiges of childhood. Her face was more sculpted, cheekbones sharper, lips fuller. Bella's skin, always unblemished and creamy, was now startlingly perfect. And as Renee hugged her she realized Bella seemed leaner, stronger, almost athletic.

Renee leaned back from the hug, one arm still around her daughter, lifting her free hand to gently cup her cheek and look into her eyes. "Bella? Are you ok?"

"I'm fine Mom. It's just .. stuff happened last night .. not bad stuff .. it's going to take some explaining. And Car .. Dr Cullen can help. OK? Sit down and we can talk?"

_'Her voice even sounds different? What the hell? Did these people do this? They all look so perfect .. did they **do** something to Bella?'_ Charlie and Renee sat down on a couch, exchanging confused and anxious looks, Bella seated between them, and waited. Charlie's mind was cycling through a mix of possible reasons as to what might have happened as he stared at the family seated around the room. '_They're so perfect looking. It can't be natural, but it's more than the look of plastic surgery. I can sense strength, possibly even danger. They're like something out of science-fiction, like some kind of Government experiment. A genetically engineered super-race or something. He's a doctor, did HE do this to them?'_

Charlie's emotions began to get out of control, before he felt a strange calm begin to wash over him, almost unsettling him as he struggled to focus on why they were there, making him feel slightly disjointed, before giving in to it. _'Hold it together, let them explain'_ he thought, at the same time he noticed one of the younger boys, the smaller one with the dark messy hair, stiffen, and his mouth seemed to tremble. _'Weird.'_

When Edward read Charlie's thoughts and whispered them to his family Carlisle almost smiled, and began to hope that this might be easier to handle than he had feared. Jasper was also reading the humans' emotions and conveying them through Edward to the rest of his family. Renee was almost an open book, dominated as she was by love for her family and anxiety for Bella, but there was an underlying kindness, need to help and a willingness to accept others. Charlie was a tougher prospect altogether, his overwhelming need to protect and analytical mind would require more than just assurances of goodwill and promises to protect their daughter.

"Charlie. Renee. Bella was a little unwell last night as you know. But she's fine now. I will tell you everything, but first you need to know that we, my whole family, want only what's best for her, to protect her. We know about her .. origins .. and her years with you. Please don't be upset with Bella, she really couldn't hide it after last night. We know about how you've raised her, keeping her safe, teaching her, whilst hiding _things_ about her. It can't have been easy and we have nothing but respect for you. We understand how hard it is to keep something that big a secret. We understand the need to be careful, to hide from the world. And you were right not to reveal her to others. You've both done an amazing job raising her, she's an exceptional girl." Renee smiled almost proudly at that, her arm tightening around her daughter.

"There are those in this world who would seek to take her from you if they knew about her, do things to her just to try find out she is, perhaps even fear her." Carlisle was careful to stop there, not wanting to frighten Bella again, and he caught the severe looks of warning that Alice was giving him.

"We understand because in some ways our experiences are similar. My family are different too. We have abilities that are .. not exactly human. Enhanced. Strength and speed and other things. We didn't ask for them, we never asked to be .. made .. what we are. I'm sorry, I can't say more. If I was to reveal everything about us to you it would put your lives and my family in great danger. There are those who would seek us out to destroy us and anyone we tell about us. Just know that we were lucky enough to find each other, we became a family, and we are devoted to each other and we protect each other. And we would like to include Bella in that protection." Charlie's eyes lifted in surprise to hear that.

_'I knew it. They're some sort of genetic experiment. Are they on the run?' _Charlie began to feel a little sorry for the family in front of him. He and Renee had only had to keep one child safe.

"But enough about us. You need to know about Bella."

Bella shifted uncomfortably on the couch, before another gentle wave of calm settled on her, and her fidgeting stopped. She had barely taken her eyes of Alice since entering the room and Alice smiled at her, throwing a look of tenderness from across the room that wasn't missed by Bella's mother.

""When Bella presented with a fever I undertook to check on her throughout the night. Each time I checked it was high, but it never spiked at any sort of dangerous level. I would have taken her straight to the hospital if it had. Around 4am it seemed to go down and she was resting comfortably."

Both parents seemed grateful for the concern shown to their daughter by the doctor.

"Around 5am I heard a noise and rushed into her room. When I realized she wasn't there I woke the entire family and we went searching. Alice found her." Carlisle smiled over at her.

He looked directly at both Bella's parents when he said the next word. "She had been .. flying."

Charlie made a slight choking noise, followed by a snort of disbelief. He turned to look at Bella and the look of anxiety and need for reassurance was heartbreaking. "Wh .. what?"

Renee seemed to have stopped breathing.

"It's true Dad, Mom. I .. I have wings." Renee couldn't help but glance to Bella's back, and seeing nothing different under her clothing her confusion grew.

"Renee, Charlie, this is obviously a shock. But Bella really did fly, and when she flies she has wings, but right now they are dormant. I know this may seem like a silly joke, but I'm sure Bella will be able to demonstrate some time when she isn't so ... agitated by everything. And I want to help, my entire family wants to help her through this. And I promise you that we can."

"What is it that YOU can do to help that we can't? We've taken care of our daughter for fi .. for all her life." Charlie almost hissed at Carlisle's presumptuousness, before another wave of calm seemed to wash over him, disorienting him. _'What the fuck is that?' _he thought. Jasper realized he'd gone too far and pulled back enough for Charlie to relax.

Esme spoke up. "Charlie, Renee. You've spent five years protecting Bella from the world," (she made it clear how much Bella had told them and heard Renee's shocked intake of breath) "but right now you will need .. time .. to help Bella adjust to these changes. I know you could try running, leaving Forks to get away from us, because we know, and you may feel you have no reason to trust us. But I promise you we would never harm you or Bella. And we can help. I don't think Bella will be able to go to school for a while until you are certain she is in control of her ... abilities. When she woke this morning her wings were unfurled. You can't risk that happening in public. And you both need to work. Carlisle and I have spoken about it. If you were willing, we could say Bella was unwell and I could have her here at the house during weekdays, and you could pick her up after school. We could keep one of our children with her as well, to make sure she felt comfortable."

They were watching Renee and Charlie closely. Renee seemed to respond to Esme's assurances, recognizing in her the same motherly love and instincts that she had towards Bella. They felt they were getting through to her. Charlie seemed much more guarded.

Carlisle spoke again. "We would not just be keeping an eye on her for you. I have an extensive library and a particular interest in matters that are .. more than human. Supernatural, if you would allow me the indulgence of using such a word. I can tell you more about Bella, what she is, and can help her find out more about her abilities. If you would let me?"

"And what, exactly, do YOU think she is?" Charlie snapped, feeling helpless that this man seemed to know more about his own daughter than he did.

"I would have thought that was obvious. She's what some people call an angel."


	17. Decisions

_"And what, exactly, do YOU think she is?" Charlie snapped, feeling helpless that this man seemed to know more about his own daughter than he did._

_"I would have thought that was obvious. She's what some people call an angel."_

xxxx

Bella heard her dad's sharp intake of breath and her mom's whimper. She KNEW how overprotective they were, and this wasn't going as well as she'd hoped. And in all her confusion the one thing she did know was that she wanted this family in her life. Emmett was her first true friend. Rosalie was like an overprotective and slightly scary big sister. Jasper was quiet and a little stiff but she felt she could trust him. Even Edward was growing on her, even if he did seem a bit .. well a _lot_ overbearing at times. And Alice .. she wasn't sure what was happening there except she knew she _needed_ Alice. Alice was _special_. She looked up to see the smallest Cullen still staring at her with a look of concern and tenderness and something else unreadable, and for a moment she was lost in those soft golden eyes again.

Then in one fluid movement Bella was off the couch and on her feet. "Can I talk to you outside please?" looking back at her parents and throwing a look of apology to Carlisle and Esme. She turned and was out the door before they had a chance to answer. Renee and Charlie looked at each other in surprise, excused themselves, and followed.

It was windy when they opened the front door, which was odd as it had been calm when they arrived. Strong gusts of wind were making the branches of the huge trees surrounding the front lawn sway, and closer to the house smaller eddies of wind were blowing tiny whirlwinds across the front lawn, scattering leaves and twigs up onto the porch. Bella was already sitting on a seat near the edge of the porch. That end seemed to be sheltered, as her parents couldn't feel any breeze as they approached.

Bella looked up to see her parents take up chairs opposite her.

"I'm sorry." Her eyes were shiny with unshed tears.

"What on earth for sweetheart?" Renee asked.

"For causing all this trouble."

Renee looked at her daughter sadly. "You didn't cause anything. You could never be any trouble."

"You know we love you to the ends of the earth," Renee said softly.

"And back," added Charlie, making Bella smile at their childhood bedtime ritual.

"You want us to leave don't you? I mean .. you want us to leave _Forks_."

Charlie huffed. "We can talk about it at home Bells."

"No Dad, I want to talk about it now." Charlie looked up in surprise at the firmness in his daughter's voice.

He tried to change the topic. "Is it true? You have wings? Like .. like an angel?" He choked on the last word.

Bella turned in her seat and dropped the top right shoulder of her shirt. "That's what's there now. But my wings, they're HUGE." Both parents smothered a gasp when they saw her markings. "But, you know, not a _real_ angel. _Like_ an angel. They're just wings."

Charlie almost laughed at that. _'Just wings.'_

"Does it .. does it hurt?" Renee winced, afraid to hear the answer.

"No, I can feel something there .. kind of warm .. and tingly, and when my wings appeared .. well it felt .. amazing. I didn't say anything to Dr Cullen, but I tried to _make_ them appear this morning in the bathroom, and nothing happened. But they came out when I was asleep. I guess what I'm saying is that I don't know how to turn them on or off. And this morning when I was .. flying .. I .. I got scared .. and I crashed."

Bella tried not to let the look of fear on her parents' faces overwhelm her, because what she had to say next was too important.

"We can trust them. I _know_ we can. And they can help. Please, can we let them help? You shouldn't have to be the ones always protecting me. I need to learn how to control .. _this_ (Bella gestured at her back) .. and to protect myself. I'm sick of you changing jobs and moving all the time to protect me. I'm not a child anymore. You have to know that, after what has happened in the last five years you have to know that I was never going to be a child for long. I know what's best for me. My opinion has to count. I want to be able to have friends. To go to school. To be able to come home and just let you ask me how my day went. I need to try make some part of my life ... normal."

There was silence then for a minute, with only the sound of the wind blowing through the trees.

Renee spoke up softly. "Charlie, I like them. They are... strange. But who are we to say strange is bad? We know for a fact it can be perfect."

Charlie's face was almost unreadable. "You really want to try what they are suggesting kiddo?"

"More than anything Dad."

He sighed heavily. "A couple of weeks then. We'll try it, see if they can help. Your Mom can take Monday off (he said that like a question and Renee nodded when he looked up at her to check) .. and she doesn't work Tuesdays, so you can both come back together on Monday and again on Tuesday ... and we'll see what happens."

Bella launched herself into both their arms for a hug, squirming happily, making both parents grin. '_Not a child my ass'_ thought Charlie.

"Can I stay for the rest of the day like I was supposed to? Em can drop me off later."

Both parents wanted desperately to say no, they wanted their daughter home safe and sound, but they searched each other's face and knew their answer without speaking.

"I .. I guess. But make sure you call us after lunch to make sure everything is still ok."

Bella kissed them both repeatedly just like she did when she was a toddler, making Renee giggle and Charlie embarrassed.

"Come on then, let's go get to know the Cullens a bit and then Mom and I can head home for lunch and spend the rest of the day panicking." He grinned painfully to try soften the fact that that was true.

No-one even noticed the wind had died down as they stepped back inside.

xxxx

Inside 5 worried vampires were listening intently to the conversation outside. None had moved from their places, except Rosalie, who was now standing at a window where she could watch the trio outside unobserved, a frown marring her perfect face. Esme was a little bemused to see her eldest daughter show concern for any person outside their family. It was really rather sweet. Not that she would use such a word to Rosalie's face.

The sixth vampire hadn't moved from the couch, but was now perched stiffly on the edge, as though in a trance. Alice was scanning the future, trying to find out what was going to happen. She still couldn't see Bella properly, but her visions showed Renee and Charlie prevaricating between packing their things and leaving within days, or deciding to stay in Forks. It wasn't helping the smallest vampire's state of mind.

Suddenly Alice jumped in her seat and squealed joyfully, "They're staying!"

Shortly after the three Swan family members stepped back inside the house, with Bella unable to hide her grin. Alice barely managed to slow herself to an acceptable human-like speed as she launched herself across the room to hug Bella. Renee watched their interaction closely, her face not revealing anything. But Edward read the older Swan's thoughts, and a curious look flashed across his face. One corner of his mouth lifted in a half smile.

Charlie walked over to Carlisle and Esme, extended his hand to he doctor, and gruffly asked "If you're still willing, we'd like to take you up on your offer?" Carlisle smiled, assured them they would be delighted, and shook Charlie's hand firmly.

Esme instantly hugged Renee, and Renee realized why her daughter had so quickly warmed to the woman. Although Esme barely appeared to be 30, making her 20 years Renee's junior, Renee idly wondered to herself whether they might end up friends.

Charlie and Renee stayed for another hour, chatting awkwardly with the other couple, but slowly things began to thaw a little between the two sets of parents. They made plans for Bella to visit each day starting Monday, and Carlisle indicated he would arrange a doctor's certificate to give to the school. Mono seemed a good excuse, it could explain an absence of weeks or months. They all hoped a few weeks would be enough.

After Charlie and Renee left there was an unspoken agreement between the Cullens to spend the rest of the day just as had been originally intended, letting Bella have fun. Emmett challenged Bella to another round of playstation and xbox games. Alice and Rosalie tried to engage her in a girly makeup session (with limited success). Rose offered to give Bella a driving lesson but was prevented by Esme (Esme wasn't quite ready to trust Bella with Rose in such a confined space, given Rose's notorious lack of patience). Esme served delicious food to her throughout the day until the poor girl could eat no more and finally, later in the afternoon, Alice managed to steal Bella away for a walk.

They were on just out of sight of the house when Alice slipped her hand in Bella's. She barely held back a huge smile when she heard Bella's heart speed up.

"Renee and Carlisle said I could stay home on Monday too, when you're here. Is that ok?"

Bella nodded quickly, worrying her bottom lip as she chewed it softly. Alice noted the familiar gesture. She was beginning to recognize Bella's various moods from her little quirks.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes."

"You aren't saying much. You had an ok day didn't you?"

Bella looked surprised. "Of course, I had the best day ever. I mean it. I've .. I've never had a day just having fun away from Mom and Dad before. I love them, and they try so hard, ALL the time, but ... but it isn't the same as having .. friends."

Alice's face lit up with genuine delight.

They reached a pretty clearing that was bordered by a small stream and climbed up on to a rocky platform. Dappled sunlight was breaking through the clouds and Alice was doing her best to stay in the shade, wanting to avoid overwhelming the young girl with yet another surprise. A comfortable silence fell over them.

After a while Alice became aware of Bella's fidgeting, as though she was struggling with herself over something.

"Alice?"

"Hmm?"

"Can I kiss you?

Alice shot up, almost falling over the side of the outcrop. That was ... unexpected.

"What?"

"I'm sorry. Don't make me ask again. If you don't want to, it's ok." Bella looked like she was going to cry.

"It .. it's not that I don't _want_ to. I really do. More than you can imagine. But, well, why do _you_ want to?"

"You like me don't you?"

Alice nodded wordlessly.

"I like you too."

"But .."

"You asked me before whether I'd ever kissed anyone and I said no. And now, with everything that's happening, I just want to do something normal. And I want my first kiss to be with someone I ... trust."

Alice had already come to terms with Bella's unusual origins. She regretted the way she first reacted that morning, accusing Bella of being a child. But she wasn't certain it was the right time to try take things further, not when Alice believed it would clearly mean so much more to Alice than the young girl. And that could just end up hurting.

But Alice wanted to give in to the innocent request. Oh how she wanted to. Without realizing she was now unconsciously mirroring the younger girl, chewing her lip as she tried to work out what to do. A minute passed, which seemed agonizingly longer to the younger girl, whose face was beginning to flush with a soft pink blush of embarrassment as she began to think that maybe Alice didn't really like her at all.

Then Alice smiled softly.

"OK."

"OK?"

Alice nodded, sliding down the rocky platform until her feet hit the ground, turning to face the seated girl and lifting her down gently until they were both standing, Bella's back pressed softly against the hard surface of the rock. They were facing each other, bodies close but not touching, as Alice looked up into Bella's face, searching for any sign of hesitation, memorizing the beauty of Bella's soft features. Bella stared back, gazing into the soft golden eyes of the small vampire, unconsciously chewing and rolling her tongue over her full lower lip, before tugging on it with her teeth. Alice's eyes seemed to darken a little, before she lifted her right hand to gently brush a thumb along Bella's left jawline and softly caress her cheek. Bella lifted her hand to Alice's hand, leaning into it and cupping it against her own face.

Bella sighed loudly, closing her eyes for a moment as the cool touch of Alice's fingers left a trail of heat where they brushed Bella's skin. She opened them again as she felt Alice shift, and realized the smaller girl was now leaning in, lifting herself onto the balls of her feet to match Bella's height. She stared at the perfection of Alice's soft pink lips.

The wind started picking up again, swirling through the trees bordering the clearing. Neither girl noticed.


	18. The Kiss

**AN: So so sorry for the delay in updating. No excuses. Hope some of you are still reading.**

* * *

_Bella sighed loudly, closing her eyes for a moment as the cool touch of Alice's fingers left a trail of heat where they brushed Bella's skin. She opened them again as she felt Alice shift, and realized the smaller girl was now leaning in, lifting herself onto the balls of her feet to match Bella's height. She stared at the perfection of Alice's soft pink lips._

_The wind started picking up again, swirling through the trees bordering the clearing. Neither girl noticed._

* * *

Alice lifted her hand to slowly, ever so delicately, trace the fullness of Bella's lower lip with her thumb, gently brushing from one corner of the girl's sweet mouth to the other. The motion made Bella sigh heavily and softly part her full lips in response, forcing warm breath over the tip of Alice's thumb.

The two girls leaned closer, holding themselves apart with the barest distance, as if savoring the moment before closing that last tiny gap. Alice slowly reached up with her lips parted, capturing Bella's top lip, caressing it between her own soft cool lips. The sensation was beyond anything either girl had experienced or anticipated, and neither was quite sure who it was that moaned softly. Maybe they both did. Alice sucked gently for just a moment, teasing, before pulling back, her own eyes wide with surprise.

She could taste Bella already, sweetness exploding in her mouth from the barest touch of their lips, and Alice was almost afraid to risk more. But Bella wasn't going to let her stop, as Alice pulled back Bella followed, leaning into the smaller girl, her eyes closed, lips pouting. Alice almost smiled at how adorable she looked and held still until their lips touched again, this time halting Bella's mouth by capturing Bella's full bottom lip between her own with a teasing soft touch. Again Alice allowed herself only the briefest of caresses, fearful of being overwhelmed by her growing need for the young girl's lips. She was trying as best she could to hold back the natural pheromones that were designed to lure her prey, or entice her lover, though she could sense them slowly eking from her body. Alice knew she could not let this go on much longer or she would not be able to stop herself.

Alice swallowed the rapidly pooling venom in her mouth and then leaned in once more, telling herself that one last caress would be enough, placing both her lips gently against Bella's in a chaste kiss, pressing delicately, cool breath mixing with warm before Alice curled her tongue upwards to lick Bella's top lip, tracing it softly. Alice was actually vibrating with happiness, and began to pull away for the last time.

What the vampire hadn't counted on was the fact that she wasn't the only one struggling with self-control. There was another energy circling and caressing the two girls, different to her own pheromones and perhaps even more intoxicating, heightening her responses and weakening her already diminished willpower. By the time Alice noticed, it was already too late. She didn't even try to resist when Bella's hands fisted Alice's shirt and pulled them back together until their lips met again.

Bella's sweet, warm, innocent mouth began to move in rhythm with Alice's lips. Then Alice felt Bella's lips part, shocking the small vampire when the younger girl escalated the kiss. A soft warm tongue peaked out and swiped across Alice's lips like Bella has done this a hundred times before, making Alice gasp, and then, oh God, Bella's tongue was inside her mouth, tasting her, teasing her, drowning her in its warmth. At first all Alice could do was let it happen, tasting chocolate and cream and something uniquely exquisitely Bella in her mouth and throat as the kiss sent small jolts through Alice's entire being.

Then in an instant Alice wanted more, and suddenly she was pressing Bella up against the rock with her body, her hands reaching up to the cold hard granite for fear that she might grip the young girl too tightly and harm her. Soft sounds of gentle gasping were quickly drowned out by the harsh crunching of granite as Alice's fingers scraped against the stone and pulverized thin finger-shaped channels into dust.

Whatever energy Bella had been putting out before began to increase exponentially, trapping them both in its web. Bella was feeling nothing but pure need and responded by moaning softly, opening her eyes to reveal dilated irises as she continued to explore Alice's mouth, lifting her hands to scrape her fingers through Alice's soft spikes, as she nibbled and sucked on Alice's sweet lips. If Alice had been able to think clearly she might have been shocked at how well the young girl could kiss, how she could make the century old vampire tremble with need.

Alice's eyes were dark with desire as she pressed up against Bella, holding her against the rock, not breaking the kiss, bucking her hips into the younger girl to lift her upwards with her body, then moving her thigh to separate Bella's legs and press against her jean-clad center, making her ache with desire. Alice's hands dropped to Bella's hips and she rolled her body into the younger girl.

If Bella had been human the pressure would have been enough to bruise the younger girl, maybe even fracture a hip. Fortunately, without either girl realizing it, there was no longer a dangerous mismatch in strength between the vampire and the young angel. Bella's strength was manifesting, and her powers would be following close behind.

Whilst this was happening, and completely unknown to the young lovers, a third invisible presence had been looking on at the edge of the clearing in horror. '_Too soon. Too soon_,' the observer muttered, before disappearing as though they were never there at all.

Bella couldn't get enough and her only instinct was to escalate the embrace, pulling Alice even harder into her. Each new sensation sent jolts of desire through the young girl's body, and at that moment she chose to switch from soft nibbling to a single hard teasing bite on Alice's lip. That was the moment everything changed. Alice froze, her body rigid as though struggling with herself. Bella heard an unmistakeable growl and opened her eyes to look into Alice's face. What she saw made her gasp. Alice's eyes were pitch black and she had cocked her neck, looking at her, no, studying Bella curiously, almost predatorily. Alice's mouth twitched, the corners turning up in a mockery of a smile, and Bella saw the glint of the small sharp fangs. For the first time in Alice's presence Bella felt a shiver of fear, and she trembled as Alice slowly began to lean in again.

It was just a tiny lapse, over almost as soon as it began. The moment Alice saw the fear in Bella's eyes she came to, taking a step back, shame washing over her. She went to raise both hands in apology but before she could say a word Bella had unfurled her wings and was already aloft. Her heart-wrenching cry of _"Bella, stop, pleeease stop_" was lost on the swirling wind and Alice collapsed to her knees, sobbing, dry-eyed and miserable.

An hour later Alice was still lying on the ground when a text came through. Eleven short words. '_I'm home. I'm sorry I ran off. I'll see you Monday_.' It wasn't much, but it was something. She almost smiled at the word 'ran'. Maybe Bella would forgive her for her lack of control. Alice hunted before returning home, taking down three deer before she began to feel a little like her old self. She ran back to the mansion, ignoring she strange looks she was greeted with when she arrived alone, simply announcing "_Bella's gone home_" before disappearing to her room.

Later that night she heard footsteps hesitate outside her door. Alice sighed heavily, recognizing the soft steps, and said "_You can come in Rose_."

The door opened and Rosalie stepped in, concern etched on her usually impassive face, as she sat on the edge of Alice's bed.

"_We're worried_."

"_You drew the short straw? I thought it might be Esme._" Then she realized she could smell Esme's scent, hovering nearby, and Alice grinned wryly. "_You can come in too if you want._"

Esme was inside and hugging Alice on the bed before she even finished saying it, ignoring Rosalie's scowl.

"_I thought you might prefer to talk to just ONE of us. Anyway, is everything ok?_"

Alice sighed heavily. "_We kissed_."

"_Oh. Is that a bad thing?_" Esme asked, stroking the back of Alice's hand as though soothing a small child.

"_Oh God no. No. It was..._"

"_It was?"_ Rosalie arched a perfect amused eyebrow.

"_It was like nothing I could ever have imagined. My God. That girl can KISS. It was .. perfection. That's the problem_."

Rosalie couldn't stifle the small noise of disbelief, earning a look of rebuke from their mother. "_Hmmff. OK, so the kid can kiss. I fail to see why that would be a problem."_

Alice ignored 'the kid' remark. Things seemed bad enough without thinking of her age. "_It kind of got out of hand._"

"_Alice? You didn't?_" The look of horror on Esme's face was mortifying.

"_No. NO! It was meant to be just a sweet innocent kiss. But something happened. Bella tastes ... and she has this ... this energy. It kind of affected us, like pheromones. It's hard to describe. One moment it was just a simple kiss and then all of a sudden we were both taking it a little further than we meant to .. and then ... she bit me. That's when I ... well, Bella stopped things before they got anywhere. And she flew home. Literally. I scared her Mom. I think I really scared her_." Alice's eyes shone wet with venom.

"_Sweetheart, if things didn't go too far and no-one got hurt then nothing is broken that can't be fixed? And I think we can all see this is more than just a simple crush, on both your parts. It's not for me to say, but I think you know what I mean. That's something you are both going to have to deal with. But it's a GOOD thing honey. You know it is. Just, take it slow. Talk to her. Have you spoken to her since?"_

Alice would have blushed if she could, hope sparking in her eyes at the thought that Bella might share some of the same feelings that were making it hard for Alice to even think clearly around her. She pulled out her phone and showed them both the text.

Rosalie pointed to the phone. "_Well. See, she's home and clearly ok. It's been a lot to deal with. I'm sure you both just realized you have to slow it down. And she's still coming Monday. You can talk it over then. Though Esme may have to distract Renee for a while. I'm not sure she would want to hear about you almost ravishing her little angel." _Rosalie grinned at her mother. "_So that means we have tomorrow_."

"_Tomorrow? For what?_" Alice asked.

"_To shop. For an angel that kid is seriously lacking in style. We're on a mission of mercy. Plus I have some ideas for wing-ready tops."_

Alice smiled and launched herself at her sister for a hug. Rosalie always knew how to cheer her up.

* * *

Elsewhere the unknown observer was reporting back.

The voices were unanimous in their concern. "_It can't be. She isn't supposed to manifest for decades. She's a CHILD."_

The observer spoke up. "_There may be an explanation. It appears .. well it's possible .. she may have a mate. It must have triggered the quickening."_

"_Impossible. We haven't even begun to design one for her yet, and we won't even consider doing so for centuries."_

"_That may be so, but it seems that Isabella has already found a mate. And it's a vampire._"

The chorus of gasps and shocked denials was deafening.

"_Quiet. QUIET!"_

Instantly the chamber grew quiet when the elder finally spoke. "_We have no choice. We cannot risk another fallen angel. She must be separated from this VAMPIRE_." He spat the word with distaste. "_And if that doesn't work, you all know the law. A fallen angel must be undone."_

The observer acknowledged the order, not without some sadness. "_I'll call upon Dashiel. He can manipulate memories. It may make it easier on the child if she forgets."_

The elder nodded. "_Make it so."_


	19. Rainy days and Sundays

**AN:** Wow. I really came in for some criticism for the end of that last chapter. OK. I admit it. I hadn't written for ages so I rushed it and maybe botched the explanation of the potential 'big bad'. I'll try to do better, though I guess I should have been expecting a bit of fallout for threatening the happiness of our two girls. A good plot shouldn't need explanations along the way, but clearly I've disappointed a few readers, so maybe this might help (and if, like me, you don't really like superfluous exposition, just skip over the next few paragraphs):

First, what is Bella? Clearly we've established she's an angel. But in my version of angels they aren't divine beings sent down from the heavens or aliens from another world. They are created, here on earth, from the same atoms that make up the rest of the universe. I doubt it's a new approach, but in my case it is inspired by one of my favorite quotes from astronomer Lawrence M. Krauss:

"_Every atom in your body came from a star that exploded. _

_And, the atoms in your left hand probably came from a different star than your right hand. _

_It really is the most poetic thing I know about physics: You are all stardust._"

So angels are made on earth, from the same stuff as us, stardust. But obviously they are very very different.

Second, how are angels 'created' in this storyline? Well, that requires a huge suspension of disbelief and a basic understanding about the theory of multiverses (and I never studied physics at school so this is truly this dummy's version). The multiverse is basically a theory in which our universe is not the only one, but states that many universes exist parallel to each other. Now I'm going to ignore the fact that few physicists believe it would ever be possible to contact these parallel universes (hey, they're not always right). In this story it is possible to not only to contact parallel universes, but to interact between them. And one supremely advanced race in one universe has worked out how to do so. But they can only physically interact with other universes at the most fundamental levels, and they certainly can't travel between worlds (their physical beings wouldn't be anything like ours even if they could). They can observe, they can communicate and they can interact only by 'creating' at a subatomic level. And so they have chosen to assume the role of benevolent architects, ensuring the safety of other worlds by creating guardians to protect and serve the life-bearing worlds of different universes, ie angels. These architects act behind the scenes and set certain events in motion, but beyond that they play little active part in this story of vampires and angels. If this was a novel I would have taken the time to explain things better in the storyline, but it's just a little fanfic so I'm skimming over the set up. I'm much more interested in our angels and vampires. So, the architects created Bella with the best of intentions, and aren't really the 'bad guys'. But as is often the case where people try to oversimplify things into right and wrong and good and evil, they fail to acknowledge the possibility of their own fallibility, they can rush to judgment and they can do the wrong thing for what might seem to them to be the right reasons.

Finally, where does that leave our two girls? A little hint. We might take a small detour on the way, but I'm a sucker for happy endings.

So, having said all that, here's a little Emmett adorableness to get us through to Monday, when our girls will be back together.

* * *

Emmett was discovering what the phrase 'being at a loose end' meant. Rosalie had driven off very early with Alice that morning headed for Seattle, and he seemed unable to distract himself with the usual Sunday video game marathon. His sense of equilibrium was out of whack. He knew Alice had been upset the night before, and he had overheard enough, with Rosalie filling in some of the gaps, to know why. Emmett might not have have Jasper's gift of empathy, but he was as protective of his family as his wife and came closest to Esme in his ability to love unconditionally. He had always been especially fond of Alice, who in many ways was the physical embodiment of the happiness at the heart of the Cullen family, and Emmett was astute enough to know that her constant bubbly nature was sometimes a front, hiding a loneliness that the family was not able to overcome. They had all waited decades for her to find the missing piece to her own happiness, and Emmett couldn't have been more pleased to know Bella was the one, even if no-one had dared say it out loud before Alice admitted it herself. But his two little sisters (and that's what Bella already was in Emmett's mind) had hit a small bump, and as far as he was concerned he was the guy to help them fix it, so that was what he was going to do.

"_I'm going for a drive"_ he called out as he left the house.

Esme looked up, puzzled. Of all her children Emmett was the least likely to just 'go for drive'. He was the most physical, the most unrestrained. He was more likely to let off steam with a hunt or ridiculous feats of strength that usually resulted in some form of property damage, but driving for the sake of it was not his style.

"_Ok_" she called out after him.

Less than fifteen minutes later he was knocking on the door of the Swan residence. Renee opened the door to him with a slightly confused look. "_Hi Emmett, was Bella expecting you? She didn't say anything."_

"_Sorry Mrs Swan. Rosalie has abandoned me for the day and I was just driving by and thought I'd call in. Do you mind?_"

Renee actually looked a little relieved. "_No, not at all. Bella's been ... well a little out of sorts today. Kind of quiet. I guess it's all been a little too much for her. She's still our little girl and it's so much to take in. I'm glad she has friends she can talk to. She's .. well, she's always been able to talk to us about anything but I'm beginning to realize she needs more than just her Mom and Dad on this one. She's out back - it's just as quick if you go round the side_."

Emmett gave Renee his biggest sweetest grin, and she couldn't help but smile back at him. "_Right, operation cheer up Bells underway."_

Emmett crept around the side of the house until he spied Bella, sitting on a porch swing, knees pulled up to her chest and hunched over. She looked miserable and he just stood there watching for a while, not sure how to approach.

"_I can hear you breathing you know Emmett."_

"_I take offence to that. I don't breathe."_

"_Yeah you do. You may think you don't but you do. Through your mouth. You're a mouth breather Emmett. And the funniest part is you don't even need to._" Bella turned and smirked at him, the humor in her eyes taking away any sting.

"_Oh God. Do you think Rose notices?_"

Bella quirked an eyebrow at him.

"_Right. Of course she does._"

"_Obviously she doesn't love you for your brains Em._"

"_I'm not sure if that's a compliment or an insult._"

Bella grinned. "_Em. How could anyone NOT love you?"_

He grinned back at her. "_I am pretty damned awesome._"

"_Indeed you are."_

_"So why don't you tell my awesomeness why you're so miserable."_

Bella's smile disappeared.

She huffed softly, looking back at the house and then out into the yard. It was raining softly. "_Wanna go for a walk?_"

Emmett nodded, zipping up his coat and pulling the hood over his head as Bella grabbed a raincoat from a rack at the back door.

They headed for the same path leading from the back of the yard to the woods that Bella had taken just a week before. She could hardly believe how much her life had changed in that one week.

They were quiet as they walked, listening to the sound of their footsteps and the softly falling rain, until they reached the small rise overlooking the woods, the Cullen mansion a small white speck almost hidden by mist on the other side of the valley. They sat down on the large flat rock, silent until Emmett couldn't hold back any longer.

"_You can tell me anything Bellybutton. I'm, well, I reckon I'm your person. Rose has Alice. Edward and Jasper have each other. Don't even ask me how that works - they can't even bitch about each other so that's no fun. And I have you. You're my best friend._"

Tears welled up in Bella's eyes and she felt the burn of emotion in her throat. "_Serious?_"

"_Yeppers, I'm your guy. And you're mine._"

"_Emmett, I hate to point this out, but I'm not a guy._"

_"Well, thank you Captain Obvious. Of course you're not a guy. But you're my little buddy. Completely different._"

Bella turned her face to look up at him, almost a foot taller than her even sitting down, and took a deep breath, trying to work out how to tell Em what she wanted to say.

She turned away so he couldn't see her mortified face. "_I screwed up Em._"

"_What?_"

_"With Alice."_

_"How exactly? Because I can guarantee that's the LAST thing she's thinking."_

_"I wish you were right but I kind of .. well I really really like her and I talked her into kissing me and ... she was SO sweet about it, letting me. Like, I know she'd never really like me like that cause she's so perfect and I'm just ... well .. I'd never kissed anyone. So I asked her if I could. Just to see. But I lied. I wasn't just experimenting. I .. I wanted to kiss her so bad it hurt and then I threw myself at her and she seemed so MAD at me and .. and then I just took off . I flew. Like a freak. A big cowardly freak. I'm SO embarrassed Em. She must hate me. Or worse. Like, maybe she just pities the freak or something_." Bells was crying and Emmett was having trouble catching some of the words, but he understood most of what she was saying and wrapped his arms around her trying to shush her, whilst unable to stop the ridiculous grin spreading across his boyish face.

Bella looked up and froze when she saw his face. Then she got mad. "_Damn it Em! You're laughing at me. Oh God you're supposed to be my friend and you're laughing at me? I want to DIE!_" Bella began whacking him in the chest with her palms and Emmett was surprised to realize that she was hitting him kind of hard.

"_Hey hey, stop that! That actually almost hurts! I'm not laughing at you Bella bear you ridiculous girl. It's just that the pair of you are kind of funny. You really need to learn how to communicate with your girl Bells. Alice was beside herself last night thinking she'd wrecked things with you because she'd come on too strong and here you are thinking practically the exact same thing. She wasn't mad at you doofus."_

_"B.. but she was. She looked so mad. "_

_ "Black eyes, huh? Look, there's a lot you still have to learn about vampires and yeah , the scary black eyes, it can mean a few things. Hunger, anger or lust. And you smell great Bells, you really do, but the funny thing is that none of us actually want to eat you. I swear. And no way was she mad at you. Poor girl wanted to jump your bones. Don't tell her I said that though. She'll kill me. Like literally._ "

Bella had stopped crying, and was now just sniffling with the occasional soft hiccup. "_R.. really?_"

"_Yes, really. Hey, can I borrow your phone?_"

Bella handed it to him, puzzled, watching him play with it for a minute before she realized he was sending a text.

"_What the hell are you doing Emmett?"_

"_What you should have done last night._"

Bella snatched it off him and glanced at the text on the screen.

"_Oh. My. God. EMMETT!_"

There it was. Already sent. To Alice.

**Hey. I'm really sorry for taking off yesterday. That kiss was amazing. So amazing that I kind of freaked out. I really like u Alice & can't wait to c u tomorrow, & hope u can forgive me 4 being a doofus.**

Bella was trying very hard not to freak out. "_I don't even use the word 'doofus' Em. She's going to know it wasn't me that sent it._"

"_Nu uh. Trust me. She'll want to believe so bad that you sent it that it wont even cross her mind_."

And he was right. Somewhere in an exclusive designer store in Seattle a dark haired little pixie was squealing and bouncing around as she held her phone to her chest, watched on by a bemused blonde supermodel.

A couple of minutes later Bella received a reply.

'**So glad u txtd honey. Was going crazy thinking I scared u off. I NEVER want to do that to u. We'll talk tomorrow, but I really really like u too. xxx'**

Emmett smirked as he read the reply._ "Just call me Cupid."_

"_Stupid, more like it. That could have gone really wrong. Like Defcon 5 wrong._" But Bella wrapped her arms around him and hugged him so hard he thought he might actually have cracked a rib.

"_Like I said dude. Best buddies._" And he leaned his head down to seal the deal by pulling back her hood and blowing a huge raspberry on Bella's neck as rain trickled down the back of her jacket.

"_I swear to God YOU are the real five year old Emmett!_" Bella managed to gasp in between squeals.


	20. Discoveries

**AN: Thanks for all the reviews and suggestions. Even if I don't respond I really appreciate the feedback and am trying to improve as I go along. There's a little something for thatdamnyank in here. I'm not sure if it's what you hoped for, but he will be making a repeat appearance.**

* * *

Sunday afternoon had been punctuated by a series of slightly awkward but cute texts between Alice and Bella, neither girl quite gathering the courage to actually phone the other and speak, in case they somehow managed to wreck the fragile sense optimism that had been created as a result of Emmett's interference.

Around 3pm Bella was walking along a new path behind her home when she received a particularly odd text.

**Do u like leather?**

She stared at her phone wide-eyed for over a minute.

**Leather what?** She finally texted back.

**Pants honey. & jackets. What did u think i meant?**

**Oh. I'm not really into fashion. Are u buying something for yourself? U always look great.** Bella was trying to imagine the dark-haired pixie in leather pants and the mental image was making her feel rather warm.

**No. They r 4 u. Rose found the cutest new collection. Perfect 4 u. But we'll have to get the jackets tailored. Theyll b safer and warmer 4 flying**. Not to mention hot as hell thought Alice.

Bella looked at the phone in her hand with something like horror and sat down on a fallen log wondering what Alice had in store for her.

It was then that she noticed him. A tiny American Goldfinch, flapping awkwardly and stumbling on the ground near her feet, his bright yellow feathers confirming it was a male.

"Hey little guy" she cooed as she moved closer, keeping her movements slow and smooth to avoid scaring him. She put her hand out and strangely he seemed to try to pull himself closer, his right wing dragging, so she scooped him up in her hands, her face full of concern as she lifted him to her. He didn't struggle, just gave a soft sad warble as she sat back down to inspect his wing.

He seemed little more than a fledgling and Bella wondered if he had fallen from a nest. "Oh your poor thing" she whispered as she handled the bird as gently as she could, though she could easily tell from the awkward angle it was drooping that his wing was badly broken, perhaps beyond repair. She was about to slip her jacket off to wrap around him so she could carry him home when it happened. A gentle warm pulse flowed from the center of her chest to her shoulders, down her arms and into her fingertips. Suddenly the little bird was wriggling furiously, making her open her hands for fear he would hurt himself. He stilled, sitting calmly on her open palms, making a series of musical warbles and twitters, before stretching his wings, flapping them quickly to test their strength, and launched himself into the air.

Bella watched in surprise as he flew around her in wide circles, making repeated tsee-tsi calls, before swooping in close to her face as though he wanted to tell her something, flapping his wings excitedly. Then he flew off.

'Oh. Well that was odd' was all she could think.

* * *

When Monday finally arrived Bella was a bundle of nerves, her mood not helped by the storm that was brewing outside. It was blowing a gale when she and Renee drove up to the Cullen mansion at 8.30 and leaves and small branches had begun to litter the lawn and driveway. Esme met them at the door.

"Quick, come inside out of that. I have no idea where this wind came from. It was fine 10 minutes ago."

"Really? It's been gusting all morning over at our place."

Bella hung back behind her Mom, having reverted to painful shyness, eyes searching for Alice.

Esme ushered them inside. "Carlisle is at the hospital until after lunch. We thought we'd just take it easy this morning. No pressure. Alice is upstairs with Rosalie. Rose wanted to be here today too for today so I hope that's ok? They have been shopping for Bella."

"What on earth for?" Renee looked surprised.

"For clothes that will hold up to flying. Alice brought it up and I have to admit it makes sense. Alice is our very own fashion genius. Trust me, just go with it. If it involves clothes it is easier if you just let her have her way."

Renee looked a little annoyed, but didn't say anything as she looked around, noticing the the youngest Cullen girl appear on the stairs. Renee smiled hesitantly up at her.

"Bella!" Alice was downstairs in a rush, the energy in the room changing the instant she entered. She stood in front of Bella, grinning, rocking on her feet, before stepping in and embracing the younger girl in a hug. Bella hugged her back self-consciously before letting Alice take hold of her hand.

"Hey Mrs Swan. Can we borrow Bella for a while so she can try on clothes? We want to make sure she is dressed for flying. You'll see. We really tried to focus on what would be safe and endurable. And things that will be dry and warm for her too. It might take a bit of getting used to but you'll see how perfect it all is, I promise."

"I .. I suppose she does need some new things. You'll have to let me pay you back though."

Esme turned to Renee and smiled warmly at her. "Nonsense. We want to help and the girl's have more pocket money than they can spend. Let's sit and chat while they get it out of their system. A fun start can't hurt. Carlisle will be back after midday and the serious stuff will start soon enough. We thought maybe just a couple of hours today to make it less scary. What do you think? You and Bella are in charge of what happens here."

Renee nodded, her smile reaching her eyes at last, though clearly still worried about the day ahead.

Bella was dragged upstairs, completely willingly, to Alice's bedroom. Her eyes widened when she noticed that Alice's bed was completely covered in neatly arranged piles of clothes. Rosalie was sitting on a couch, smirking at the look on Bella's face.

Alice stood by the bed at the first pile.

Rosalie stood and stepped up to the young girl. "Right. Clothes off."

"P.. pardon?"

"Top and jeans." Rosalie waved dismissively at Bella's outfit. "We don't have all day and you have to try most of this so we can work out what will suit."

Bella turned to Alice for help, but the smaller girl simply shrugged, trying to maintain a look of nonchalance. The corners of her mouth were curling suspiciously upwards.

Bella chewed her bottom lip nervously and glanced hopefully towards the bathroom door.

"Come on. We're all girls. It's no different to gym. Not even as bad. You keep your underwear on."

"B.. but I'm the only one undressing."

Rosalie huffed in exaggerated frustration, and simply stared at Bella, clearly unwilling to make any allowances for the young girl's shyness. Alice was conflicted between feeling sorry for Bella, and wanting to take advantage of the opportunity to literally see more of Bella. So she was leaving it completely up to Rose. Which was a little unfair, given that there was no way that Rosalie would give in.

Bella's face was a bright shade of pink as she finally gave in, sliding her jacket off and placing it over the back of a chair. Hesitating for a moment before she pulled her tshirt over her head. Looking anywhere but at the other two girls as she unbuttoned her jeans and dropped them to the floor before picking them up and holding her clothes bunched in front of her protectively.

Alice was humming softly to herself, bouncing backwards and forwards on her feet as she tried not to look like she was looking. Rosalie glanced over at her sister and smirked, shaking her head just once with suppressed laughter at Alice's behavior. She wasn't fooling anyone.

Alice tossed a soft cotton halter necked shirt at Bella which Bella tugged over her head as fast as she could. The loose fabric fell beautifully over Bella's breasts. Alice spun her round and nodded, noting that the low back would be perfect. She barely managed to stop herself from reaching out and tracing the delicate wings that marked Bella's shoulders and backs.

"Don't move." Bella could feel Alice's fingers grazing the middle of her back, and then suddenly her bra was undone and Alice was maneuvering the shoulder straps down Bella's arms.

"Alice!"

"Sweetie, relax. You don't need it. And it's only going to get in the way today."

Alice spun her again to look. Bella wasn't tiny up top. Verging on a C cup. Slightly bigger than Alice and smaller than Rose, but it was clear that her stronger angelic body didn't need the support offered by a bra.

Rosalie agreed. "Better you go without I think. Except for when you want the look. I'm sure there are those who will appreciate you in nice lingerie from time to time." Rose winked at Alice over the top of Bella's head and Alice pretended to scowl back at her.

Alice then handed Bella a pair of black leather pants. All the price tags were already gone. Bella couldn't pull them on fast enough, tugging the leather up over each leg, a little surprised as they fit perfectly, molding to the shape of her body. Alice stepped up to run her fingers around the band, tugging in a couple of places and inspecting the fit, quickly switching into serious fashion mode. "Hmm, I think these are great. How do they feel? The leather will soften with wear."

Bella just nodded, her mouth dry. She didn't trust herself to try saying actual words when Alice was standing so close and grabbing her pants like that.

"Boots". Rose held up two pairs of boots, the first a pair of knee length fatigued leather riding boots, and the other a mid-calf pair with subtle studs. Both had small heels as a concession to what they expected Bella would be willing to agree to. The boots alone cost more than what Bella would expect to spend on clothing in a year, but neither she nor Renee were going to find that out. Bella pulled on the shorter pair first.

"Try this jacket. It's not the actual one, we're having some adjusted for you, but this one will help us check the fit."

Bella slipped it on and the two vampires took a step back to look her over.

"Not bad" Rose noted, before stepping up and running her fingers through Bella's hair a few times to tease the soft curls into a slightly messy but fuller sexy look. "Better."

Alice just grinned and hummed happily to herself. Bella looked fucking hot. If it wasn't for the continual lip biting, which was pretty damned erotic anyway, and the slightly awkward stance which reminded her of a young deer, it would have been hard to believe it was the same shy girl that had walked in the door a short while ago.

"OK. Next." Alice was holding up another outfit.

The first hour was nothing short of mortifying for Bella, particularly now that she was unwillingly braless. Shirts and pants and even a couple of skirts were tried and discarded in a whirlwind of colors, fabrics and styles. Most items met with Alice and Rose's approval, and the pile of rejects was tiny in comparison to the keepers. Soon it became almost comfortable for the young girl, and she even managed to make conversation as she was repeatedly dressed and undressed, at one point mentioning the little bird that she'd come across the previous day. Alice thought they should tell Carlisle about it, and the conversation moved on to other things.

By late morning they had finished, and Bella was relieved to hear Esme call from downstairs to say there was a snack waiting for her downstairs.

Surprise flitted across Renee's face when Bell appeared in the first outfit she had tried on, but she managed to withhold from making any comment. Reluctantly she admitted to herself that the open back of the shirt was a necessary feature, and despite the discomfort she felt in seeing her little girl in leather pants, it was clearly a better choice than denim or cotton if her little girl was going to be flying in cold damp air. Renee's stomach dropped when she thought about that .. flying. It still seemed like a surreal dream and although she and Charlie had seen Bella's wings, they hadn't actually seen her fly yet.

Lunch was an unusual experience, with Bella and Renee eating a vegetable casserole that Esme had cooked for them whilst Renee and Alice chatted. Esme had explained to Renee that their special 'condition' meant they had to have a special mostly liquid vegetarian diet. Renee was polite enough not to pry and understood the need for secrecy, though that didn't stop her wondering about the strangely perfect family that had taken to their daughter so quickly and completely.

Carlisle pulled up in his dark Mercedes not long after one o'clock and walked inside the house to be greeted lovingly by his wife. He smiled reassuringly as he said hello to Renee and squeezed Bella's shoulder gently as he told them how much he was looking forward to talking with them and helping Bella test her abilities.

"It's looking quite nice outside. Shall we sit on the porch for a while and talk, and then maybe Bella might try a few things if she's feeling up to it?"

Bella nodded with just the faintest trace of nervousness. They really were trying to make things as comfortable for her as possible and she was grateful for their kindness.

Bella sat on the porch between her Mom and Alice, with Carlisle and Esme seated opposite, listening to Carlisle talk. Alice resisted taking Bella's hand with Renee there, but still sat as close as she could. She needed have bothered trying to hide anything. Renee had already noted how the two girls interacted, always finding innocent ways to touch in some way, eyes searching each other out whenever one of them entered a room where the other was. Right now they were sitting close, and it might have seemed that they weren't touching if Renee hadn't noticed that their ankles were hooked around each other under the bench seat. But she couldn't bring herself to object in any way, when it was clear that Bella visibly relaxed whenever she was around Alice. Renee decided to have a talk to her daughter about the blossoming relationship as soon as the opportunity arose, and reached out to gently pat her daughter's thigh, drawing a sweet smile from her.

Carlisle spoke up. "I've been going through the documents I've been able to gather so far. To be honest they've been largely unhelpful, but there are some things that may be useful, and I'm hoping to get more manuscripts shipped to the house later this week."

"May I look at them as well? I'd like to help."

"Of course Bella, and you will know better than anyone if you come across anything that describes what you are experiencing."

"So what can you tell us?"

"There is a medieval Italian manuscript that you may want to read. But it is in Latin. Do you read Latin?" Carlisle smiled when Bella nodded.

"It was considered heresy, and it was lucky to have survived. Unlike other writings from the time it denies that angels were heavenly beings, and claims they can be good or evil and did not serve a single being, divine or otherwise."

"Well that's kind of a relief. I don't really feel like some sort of divine messenger or anything like that."

"There was a large tract on one particular angel. Probably the most famous one of all. Lucifer. His name means morning star. "

Renee's eyes flickered in surprise at the mention of the morning star, remembering how they had found Bella. "What about him?"

"Some people believed he wasn't an angel cast out of heaven for the sin of pride, but was actually a morning star that had fallen from the sky. The bible also mentions him a number of times by different names, including Lucifer, the morning star, the light of the morning and the dawn."

"What are you saying? Lucifer was supposed to be evil. Are Angels some kind of monsters?" Bella was tensing up, clearly anxious with what Carlisle was saying, knowing she had been found by her parents at daybreak under the light of the morning star. Was she like Lucifer? She reached instinctively for Alice, squeezing her hand hard and surprising the small vampire with how much it hurt, so Alice tried stroking the back of Bella's hand with her free hand to distract her. The wind had started gusting again, to the point that everyone started thinking about going indoors.

"Oh no! No no no! You have to understand that not all beliefs, ancient or otherwise, considered Lucifer to be evil. There are those that regarded him as a liberator or guiding spirit. And even those that called him a fallen or dark angel believed light angels were instruments of God whose role was to protect and liberate. I don't think it really matters whether you believe Lucifer was real or not, or was good or evil. The fact that different traditions refer to dark and light angels means that angels have freewill and can use their powers for protection and liberation of others, or for destruction. I can't tell you how or why Bella is, but just like everyone else Bella gets to chose who she is."

Bella relaxed just a little.

"Another thing that is interesting is that a number of different manuscripts refer to angels being gifted elementals. Lucifer was an archangel of light and was also known as the Lord of the Air. Other angels were associated with the element of earth. And I'm sure if we keep looking we could find references to angels connected to the elements of water and fire."

Esme looked at Renee when she heard that and the two women shared a flicker of understanding. "Alice ... sweetheart ... has there been anything unusual about the weather when you're with Bella?"

Alice's eyebrows rose upwards and she looked at Bella. The gusts had died back down to a steady breeze. "Bella, have you noticed that whenever you seem to be a little upset the wind starts to pick up?"

"Was I .. was I making it do that?"

"I think you might have been honey. It seems to have happened when you feel strong emotion, like when you're scared or angry or anxious. I think you might have some ability to affect the air."

Carlisle smiled with delight. "Well that's certainly something we can explore over the next couple of weeks. But right now we probably need to concentrate on your flying. How about we see how much control you have? Would that be ok?"

Bella nodded and stood up, hesitating and turning as she was about to walk down the steps off the porch.

"Carlisle. There's something else. I found an injured bird yesterday when I was walking. His wing was broken. When I picked him up I felt strange, kind of a warmth that spread from my body to my hands. And then he flew. I think .. I think I healed him."

There were several gasps.

"Oh Bella, that's wonderful" Esme smiled.

"Indeed. I think you are going to prove to be a very special young girl Bella." Carlisle smiled warmly at her. Then, without making it obvious, Carlisle called Jasper outside, thinking the empath might prove useful. Edward followed him out, and Carlisle and the two boys stood on the lawn in front of Bella and Alice, who were still holding hands, whilst Esme and Renee looked on. Not wanting to add to the pressure Rosalie and Emmett stayed inside, although they were watching from a window.

* * *

The next couple of hours went better than anyone could have expected. Although at first Bella had trouble making her wings appear at will, she quickly realized that the more she thought about it and stressed about it, the harder it was. The key was staying relaxed but focussed. That was where the little pixie and Jasper came in handy. Jasper couldn't really affect Bella directly, but he could keep Alice calm and happy. And in turn Alice's emotions affected Bella.

After a while Bella stopped trying so hard. And then, one moment Bella was looking down and smiling at Alice, and the next her wings had just appeared, seemingly effortlessly. So Carlisle had her practice unfurling and closing her wings until it was as easy as breathing. And then he asked her if she wanted to try flying.

"Perhaps not too far or high? We don't want to scare your mother."

Renee was still on the porch, but couldn't take her eyes off Bella. She moved close to the edge of her seat, holding her breath with a sense of panic when she saw her daughter fly for the first time. It was beautiful. Just a couple of powerful beats, like a swan preparing for takeoff, and Bella rose effortlessly into the air a few hundred feet, gracefully circling the house, making her mother step off the porch to watch. Renee's eyes glistened with unshed tears of wonder as she watched her daughter glide lazily in large circles, barely flapping her wings, occasionally swooping lower before a couple of powerful beats would rocket her upwards again.

Renee ran to hug her daughter when she finally landed after slowly swooping down low and then making a tiny upwards lift at the last moment, feet to the ground, appearing to step out of the air and onto the ground in a movement of pure grace. "You are SO beautiful. I am so proud of you baby girl" she whispered hoarsely in her daughter's ear.

"Well done Bella. We're all impressed. I think that's enough for your first day" Carlisle announced. "You've done so well. It will be up to your parents, but I wouldn't be surprised if you are back at school even sooner than we hoped."

There was another unseen being peering down the highest branches of one of the massive trees surrounding the house, watching the proceedings with interest.

Dashiel was perplexed. He'd been warned about the vampire coven that had interfered in the life of the young angel, somehow triggering the beginnings of her powers. There was even the suggestion that one of them was her soul mate, and she certainly seemed quite close to the smallest female vampire, although there was nothing to suggest they had actually mated yet.

His watcher had warned him that any relationship with the bloodsuckers at this stage, before she had even matured, could only corrupt her irrevocably. They could not risk that with an angel of Isabella's potential. She wasn't just an elemental, she was to be the first in over three millennia to be gifted with the power of the Void. That kind of creative energy was destined to be meant for the purest of angels. But here they were, interacting calmly, appearing as friends, even allowing the human parent to watch. Was it all some kind of trick to gain the trust of the young angel?


	21. A lovestruck Romeo

That night over dinner Charlie questioned his wife and daughter about the day's events, trying hard not to grill them like a law enforcement officer.

"It was amazing Dad. Carlisle taught me how to relax and let my wings out. I can do it whenever I want to now. I don't think .. I'm pretty sure I won't let them out accidentally now."

"You should see her Charlie. She flew. I can't describe what it felt like to see our little girl fly. It was just so beautiful."

Bella smiled warmly at her Mom.

"We're lucky Charlie. I believe they want to help just like they promised, and I'm starting to trust them."

Bella pointed to the small pile of manuscripts and that Carlisle had loaned her. "Carlisle gave me these books to read. He has been researching and working hard to help me find out about myself. Already he's told us some things about angels that will help. Some of them have gifts, and Carlisle thinks I may have powers."

"Powers?"

Renee squeezed Charlie's forearm. "Bella healed a little bird. And she may have some ability to control the wind. They're going to test it later in the week. But Carlisle has been good. He's not pressuring her. He's not asking her to do anything we wouldn't agree to. I have to go to work tomorrow and I'm not worried about leaving her with them tomorrow. "

Charlie nodded slowly. He'd always trusted his wife's opinion and ability to read others. He was starting to relax about his decision to give the Cullens a chance. Carlisle was widely respected in town, and Esme volunteered at the hospital. There was nothing to suggest they were anything but the caring and generous people that they appeared to be, even if they kept to themselves and had their own strange secrets. Charlie understood exactly what it was like to need to guard his family closely, and how that made close friendships all but impossible. He was beginning to wonder whether the Cullens might not offer the kind of friendship his family had had to go without.

He rose from the table, kissing his daughter on the top of her head. "We're proud of you Bella. Just make sure you show me those flying skills soon kid. And the minute they ask you to do something you don't like you call me or your Mom, ok?"

* * *

On Tuesday, after a morning of gentle testing focussing on Bella's flight speed, height and endurance, Carlisle had had to return to the hospital, leaving Bella to spend time with Alice. Esme was home, but was trying to give the girls some space. Rosalie and the three boys were at school. Alice and Bella were sitting in the music room, and Bella was staring at a single stray beam of weak sunlight that was shining through the window and highlighting the dust particles in the air.

"Emmett is desperate to find out how strong you are. Don't be surprised if he challenges you to an arm wrestle."

Bella thought the idea was ridiculous. "I do feel different. Stronger and faster. I don't seem to get tired when I'm doing stuff, even flying. And I don't need as much sleep as I used to. But I'm pretty sure any one of you could still crush me like a bug."

"Don't be so sure. I can feel you getting stronger. Sometimes when you are nervous and you hold my hand and squeeze it, well, I can really feel it. I'd only thought other vampires could do that."

Part of Bella knew she should have been worried about the possibility of actually hurting Alice, but a bigger part was focussed on Alice's mention of holding hands and other vampires. She hadn't really thought about it much, but Alice was, well, a lot older and probably a lot more experienced. Bella had no right to be jealous, it wasn't as though they she and Alice were girlfriends, but she couldn't stop herself asking.

"Have .. have you held many vampires' hands?"

Alice couldn't help but smirk at the question. "Held hands?"

"Well, you know, have you had boyfriends. Or .. or girlfriends."

Alice sighed. "Hmm. I'm 19. I've been 19 for 93 years. I'd never found anyone special. Not like Rose and Em. Or Jasper and Edward. Or Carlisle and Esme. But, it .. it's a long time to be alone, waiting for that special one. So yes, I've had relationships. And yes, I like girls. I'm not a virgin Bella."

"Oh. Right. I guess you think I'm pretty .. um ... naive."

Alice took both Bella's hands in hers and leaned in so that their foreheads were touching. "I don't care what you have or haven't done. No, that's not quite true. I can't help it but I'm happy I was the first one to kiss you. That was wonderful. You are wonderful. We're all lucky to have met you. Emmett is crazy about you. Honey, even Rose likes you and that never happens with new people. It took years for her to warm up to me, and I'm awesome. And I like you Bella. A lot. I've already told you that."

Bella was blushing furiously by now, but she gave Alice an adoring smile. "I like you too."

Once again Alice found herself wanting to tell Bella everything about vampires, good and bad, about how vampire's have one true mate and how she really felt about her. Even worse was the almost overwhelming need to show Bella how she felt. It was becoming physically painful for the little vampire to hold back her desire. Vampires were not designed to exercise restraint. Their nature was ultimately quite simple. They had two basic needs, blood and sex. Alice may have been a vampire for almost a century, but in vampire years she was still young, not much more than an adolescent, and her impulses were becoming harder and harder to control the more time she spent with Bella.

And what Alice felt with Bella was like nothing she'd ever heard of before, not even from the rest of her family. The moment she'd seen her in the cafeteria it was instantaneous, the shock of finding a part of herself she didn't know she was missing, and only now was she beginning to realize that the thread of connection had begun that day 5 years ago in the forest and had been growing ever since.

It was even worse when they were apart. Alice felt a physical ache in her chest when Bella went home to her parents, like a part of her was being torn away from her. But she couldn't quite bring herself to do anything about it. Bella was so young, and dealing with so much change in her life already. It felt wrong to add to that pressure. So Alice suppressed her needs and wants for another day.

Alice released Bella's hands before she reached the point where she couldn't let go, and hid her pain with a gentle smile. "Well, now that we have re-established that we like each other, how about we go for a walk? I'm going to find that sunbeam again for you. There's something I want to show you."

A few minutes later the girls were outside and Alice reached out into a single weak ray of light. Bella watched as her hand sparkled like a diamond, throwing off glimmers of rainbow colored light as Alice twisted her hand.

"Oh my God. You sparkle."

"Crazy huh?"

"It's beautiful. You're beautiful."

"Pretty damned useless though. It makes life hard when we have to make sure we stay out of the sunlight around humans. Our family is lucky, I can see when it is going to be sunny and we can plan around it. Stone hard skin is a great defense, but whoever thought sparkles would be a useful evolutionary trait should have their head examined."

Bella grinned. "You're almost indestructible aren't you?"

"Pretty much. Not much can kill us. Fire. Ripping off our heads. That works." Bella winced.

"Feeling brave?"

"Why? Do you want to fight me or something?" Alice wriggled her eyebrows jokingly.

"Or something. Want to go flying?"

Alice's eyes lit up. "Could you? I mean, do you think you could carry me?"

"I'm pretty certain I can." And with that she picked up Alice bridal style, unfurled her wings, and lifted off. It was unexpectedly easy holding her whilst she flew higher and higher, and Bella loved the feeling of Alice pressed close to her in her arms. "Tell me if you get cold".

"We don't feel the cold." Alice nuzzled her face into Bella's neck, speaking softly but directly into Bella's ear so that her words weren't drowned out by the rushing wind.

They flew high, through the damp layer of cloud that hung over Forks almost every day, directly into bright sunlight. The effect on Alice's skin was instantaneous, and the small glimpse of sun on Alice's hand was nothing compared to bright clear sunlight hitting the vampire's exposed skin. It was almost blinding, and Bella laughed from the exquisite joy and beauty of it.

They flew beyond Forks, circling high over the nearby forest and mountains before turning to head out towards the sea. Alice had never experienced anything like it, the sheer freedom and exhilaration of silent flight was breathtaking, even for a creature that didn't need to breathe. Droplets of frozen water sparkled on her cheeks like tears of happiness and she hugged Bella's neck with barely suppressed adoration.

When they finally landed 30 minutes later Alice could barely speak, and simply hugged Bella tight, pressing her lips against her neck as she regained her composure.

"Are .. are you ok?"

"OK? That was the most amazing thing EVER. It was .. I don't know how to describe it. You'll take me again wont you?"

"I'll take you flying any time you want Alice."

Alice squealed and hugged her again. "Don't .. don't tell the others yet. Please? I ...I want it to be our thing. Just for a while? They always know everything that happens to me as soon as I do and for once I'd like a secret that is just mine and yours."

"Just us." Bella promised.

The flight hadn't gone unobserved though. Dashiel had been watching again from the tree line. The little vampire was clearly the one his Watcher had spoken of. Isabella's mate. And things were moving fast. Too fast. If he was going to intervene it would have to be soon, before anything happened between them. A mating would hasten the development of Isabella's powers. The manifestation of that kind of creative power at a time when she was emotionally immature, perhaps even unstable, before she had been trained to be properly attuned to her surroundings, could prove disastrous.

Why then did he feel so conflicted? Something was niggling at the back of his mind. Doubt. And an angel couldn't afford to have doubts.

* * *

Later that afternoon Bella was seated with Alice on an old log at the edge of the garden, talking to Jasper and Edward who had just arrived home from school. Bella seemed distracted.

"Hey, um. You know how I told you yesterday that I think I may have healed a little finch?" Bella nodded over in the direction of a small yellow bird that had been flitting around them for the last half hour. "I think that might be him."

The goldfinch chose that moment to fly down and perch on the log that the two girls were sitting on.

"Hey fella." Bella cooed at him.

The bird sang back at her excitedly. Four sets of eyes watched him with fascination as he tweeted and danced sideways up and down the log. Then suddenly he was airborne, performing a series of cute aerial maneuvers in the air directly above and in front of Bella, singing as he flew. He began to fly in wide circles, warbling sweetly. After a while he swerved towards the nearest tree, landing and then jumping from perch to perch, still warbling, making his way around a large group of trees.

Jasper seemed fascinated and was watching the finch and then looking over at Bella, grinning widely.

"If he starts diving down at her and back up again you're in trouble Alice." Alice shot Jasper a puzzled look.

Almost on cue the little bird swooped in close to Bella, rose into the air, and began a long flat flight, tucking his wings close to his body, plummeting earthward and catching himself by spreading his wings to glide upward in a series of loops. He repeated this twice before returning to perch back on the log close to Bella, tweeting happily at her like something out of a Disney cartoon.

Edward was looking over at Jasper with a curious expression, before the two of them began giggling hysterically as they stared at the two girls.

"What? You're seriously starting to annoy me you two. What is it?" Alice glowered at the pair of them as they grinned like a pair of idiots.

Jasper seemed to be having trouble forming words, but finally managed to explain. "You have competition Pixie. Our little feathered friend has just completed his courtship ritual. For Bella. He is in lurve."

Edward snickered. "So was it good for you too Bells?"

Bella grinned. "Aww, it IS kind of flattering. My little Romeo."

Alice's face was priceless. She glared at the bird and then at Bella, not sure why she was annoyed or who she should be mad at. More than a little embarrassed at her own reaction, she grabbed Bella's hand and dragged her towards the house without a word, leaving behind two amused vampires and a lovestruck goldfinch.

* * *

"I don't understand."

"What is there to understand Dashiel? They must be separated." The angel sat near the top of a mountain peak, seemingly alone except for the glowing orb of blue light the ebbed and pulsed with energy. He was handsome, although not classically so, his dark hair flecked with silver, blue eyes and a strong determined jaw. His age was hard to guess, perhaps somewhere in his 50s, although his aura seemed ancient.

"I haven't seen any evidence of the vampire harming her. I've been watching. They don't even drink from humans, they feed on animals. This coven is different, the young vampire is different. I could help. I could teach Isabella, I could teach her mate too."

"And if Isabella manifests and isn't able to control her power, or worse, if the vampire corrupts her, we may never be able to stop her. Vampires can't suppress their true nature. They always give in to evil in the end. What if they drink from Isabella?"

"If they try to drink from an angel, they die. That's what has always happened."

"Not if she allows it."

Dashiel looked shocked. "You never told me that."

"There was never any reason to let you know. An angel's blood only turns poisonous if a vampire drinks by force or coercion. It is one way we have ensured you stay hidden from their kind. But if she should allow it, it will not kill the vampire. It may simply change her."

"Change?"

"Even we don't know how. It has never happened."

"Still, what you want me to do, I can see it will hurt Isabella. You created us to protect. And you are supposed to guide us, not force us to take away the free will of our own kind. That is not how it should be. She is still an innocent."

The Watcher hesitated. Emotion was something his kind rarely indulged in, but the angel was dangerously close to insubordination and he was struggling for the first time in centuries not to give in to anger. "An innocent who can be corrupted too easily if we do not act. What she can't remember will not hurt her. Keep observing," he ordered. "You will receive ... instructions ... when the time is right." With that the soft orb of light was gone.


End file.
